THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Covid cases surging, the Government Medical College Hospital here — the tertiary care hospital in the district catering to Category C Covid patients — has stopped taking new admissions with its capacity reaching the threshold.It is learnt that an average of 10 to 20 patients with severe symptoms under home isolation is on the waiting list every day to get medical care in the district. Sources said the MCH is unable to admit new patients as there are scores of critically ill patients at the hospital waiting for ICU beds and ventilators.
As on Monday, 176 of the total 183 ICU beds at public healthcare institutions in the district are occupied while 128 out of the total 149 ICU beds at private hospitals are occupied.The situation is more or less same in other districts as ICU beds are almost fully occupied. As many as 37 out of the 40 ICU beds were occupied at Govt MCH, Ernakulam, on Tuesday while 493 out of 500 ICU beds were occupied at Govt MCH, Thrissur. After all 600 allotted Covid beds got fully occupied in the Govt MCH, Kozhikode, authorities set up another 200-bed unit at its super speciality block.
On Tuesday, all beds on both the blocks were occupied. In Malabar MCH, Kozhikode, only three of the 73 critical care beds were free.Thirvanananthapuram MCH has also started to feel the heat of oxygen shortage as there is not enough life-saving gas to cover all 200 ICU beds.
‘Govt must immediately take over unused hosps’
“The company supplying oxygen is transporting it from Bellary and we need more supply.,” said an official.“We don’t know to whom we should allot the ICU bed, whether we should give it to the elderly or the adult who is critically ill and struggling in an oxygen bed for more critical care. The situation is alarming and we’ve to consider a lot of things. Often we get recommendation or reference from VIPs. We cannot take new patients. Even if we do, we are unable to offer them critical care,” said the official. The hospital stopped taking new admissions from Monday.
“The authorities should set up more ICU beds. The main crisis we face is resource crunch as ICU beds require more medical staff. Converting non-Covid beds into Covid beds will not help,” said the official. The authorities have set aside 1,400 beds at MCH for Covid patients, but only 450 of those are oxygen beds.
IMA state secretary P Gopikumar told TNIE that the government should take immediate steps to take over unused hospitals and increase KASP beds at private hospitals.“Private hospitals are playing a key role now and the majority of them has spared more than 50% of their beds for Covid care. We have given a list of the private hospitals which are defunct. The government should take over them and set up more medical infrastructure which would cater to Thiruvananthapuram,” he said.
(With inputs from Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kochi bureaus)
SITUATION ELSEWHERE