BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has spent around Rs 892.54 crore on providing free treatment to Covid patients during the first and second waves of the pandemic in the State till October this year.
The highest bill amounting to Rs 113.7 crore has been raised by IMS and SUM Hospital, followed by Rs 77.32 crore by Jay Prakash Hospital at Rourkela, Rs 58.99 crore by KIMS Hospital, Rs 35.63 crore by IDH at Puri, Rs 29.79 crore by Neelachal Hospital (Balakati), Rs 28.74 crore by Hitech Medical College at Rourkela, Rs 28.15 crore by Chandpur TB Hospital at Nayagarh, Rs 26.71 crore by Covid Hospital at KIMS Campus (Baripada) and Rs 20.66 crore by Amit Ashwini Hospital (Berhampur).
This apart, a cluster of four hospitals - Aditya Ashwini Hospital, Kanungo Institute of Diabetes Specialities, Blue Wheel Hospital, Hitech Medical College and Sparsh Hospital, at Bhubaneswar has submitted total bills amounting to Rs 142.62 crore. Another cluster of four hospitals and Covid Care Centres in Sambalpur have raised a bill of Rs 30.31 crore and two hospitals in Ganjam have furnished bills amounting to Rs 27.13 crore. Phulbani Covid Hospital has submitted a bill of Rs 15.59 crore.
Odisha was one of the first few states where dedicated Covid hospitals (DCHs) were set up in collaboration with private entities to keep the coronavirus treatment away from the general hospitals. The first hospital with 500 beds came up at KIMS, Bhubaneswar, followed by Ashwini at Cuttack with a capacity of 125 beds and then another 500-bed dedicated facility by SUM Hospital.
The government had set up the DCHs with around 40,000 beds, including over 4,500 ICU beds and 1,500 ventilator beds, across Odisha exclusively for Covid patients. This apart, 80,000 beds were arranged at Covid Care Centres and temporary medical camps by the government with the support of private partners.
Replying to a query on the State’s expenditure on free Covid treatment, Health Minister Naba Kishore Das informed the Assembly that the government has also released funds for purchase of equipment and materials, which will be returned to it after the Covid hospitals are decommissioned. Now, 22 government Covid hospitals and four hospitals set up in collaboration with private entities in Khurda, Cuttack and Sundargarh are functional.