With at least 10,000 beds reserved for Covid-19 patients vacant in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided not to allow Covid patients into some hospitals. Under the new directive, all Covid-19 patients will be transferred either to the PMC-run Covid-dedicated Baner hospital or the Jumbo Covid treatment centre at COEP.
Municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar said, “As the positive cases are coming down in the city, the bed situation has improved. We have decided not to allow Covid patients into Dalvi Hospital temporarily, and to use the beds there for other patients. PMC is planning to end its contract with some hospitals, temporarily.”
Additional municipal commissioner Rubal Agrawal said, “It is a good sign the number of cases are becoming less, but still, critical cases are high. The ICU and ventilator cases are more than 800. So we are on alert. It is true that we are shifting the patients to Baner and the Jumbo centres, so they are getting utilised fully. We are terminating contracts with some hospitals for isolation beds.”
Agrawal said, “If needed, we can acquire all these beds. Earlier, every evening, we needed to create additional ICU beds, but now, there are no complaints about getting ICU or ventilator beds in the city.”
Officers from the PMC confirmed that the contracts with 11 small hospitals has been temporarily suspended and Covid patients are being referred to the jumbo centres at College of Engineering Pune at Shivajinagar.
As per data on October 20, Pune city has a total of 8,601 active cases. Total bed capacity in the city is 15,417 and of this, 4,991 beds are occupied. A total of 10,426 beds are vacant in PMC-owned and private hospitals.
Bed capacity in the city
Total bed capacity– 15,417
Occupied– 4,991
Vacant– 10,426
Isolation beds- 7,506
Occupied – 4,382
Vacant – 3,124
Total beds without oxygen – 2,323
Occupied – 1,534
Vacant – 789
Total beds with oxygen – 4,058
Occupied – 2,069
Vacant – 1,989
Total ICU beds without ventilator – 574
Occupied – 354
Vacant -220
ICU beds with ventilator – 551
Occupied – 425
Vacant – 126
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