In two weeks, Ernakulam to have 2,000 beds with oxygen supply

Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery, to turn entirely into a COVID-19 treatment centre in two days

The Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery, will turn entirely into a COVID-19 treatment centre in two days, while the district administration will also set up more beds with oxygen supply soon.

The district currently has around 1,000 beds with oxygen supply, according to the District Information Office. The administration aims to have a total of 1,500 beds with oxygen supply ready in the district over the next one week. This number will be increased to 2,000 over the following week.

Beds with oxygen supply will be made available in every taluk, and cooperative hospitals will also be used for COVID treatment. If necessary, ESI hospitals will also be made available for COVID patients. Afternoon outpatient consultations at government hospitals will be suspended, and additional staff appointments, including that of nurses, will be made, according to a communication from the district administration.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority attended by Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar. Private hospitals are being directed to set aside 20% of their beds for COVID patients and officials of the district administration will hold a meeting with private hospital managements on Sunday.

Facilities will be ramped up on a war footing, anticipating that the number of cases is likely to go up over the next few days. The Health Department will collaborate with local bodies to increase swab collection for testing.

The district administration’s decision to covert the MCH wholly into a COVID care centre comes in the wake of the increasing number of patients requiring intensive care and oxygen supply. At present, about 70 COVID patients are under treatment at the facility.

The MCH was the single largest tertiary care centre exclusively for COVID patients for around a year, till recently when it was opened up to non-COVID patients to also facilitate medical training for house surgeons and students at the college.

Patients who are under treatment for other ailments at the MCH will be shifted to the Ernakulam General Hospital and the government hospital at Aluva.

The number of COVID patients in the district has been doubling in six days, according to the administration. Treatment facilities will be arranged for up to 40,000 patients at a time, the communication says.

The active case load in the district is currently at 32,167.

While the MCH will have 300 beds for COVID patients, PVS Hospital has a capacity of 120 beds, the Aluva District Hospital has a capacity of 100, the Fort Kochi taluk hospital has 70, and the super-speciality block at the Ernakulam General Hospital will soon be a 100-bed facility. The CIAL COVID treatment facility has a maximum capacity of 150 beds, while the Thripunithura taluk hospital can admit 70 COVID patients, and the Muvattupuzha General Hospital can admit 40 patients.

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