Govt rushing to arrange 15,000 beds by June-end
From banquet halls and stadia to hotels and school buildings, the Delhi government is pulling no punches in race to arrange 15,000 beds by end-june and 80,000 by July 31 for Covid patients.
The Delhi government has also directed private hospitals to reserve 40 per cent beds for Covid patients. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said if the current trend of 50 per cent occupancy of Delhi hospitals by outsiders continued, the actual number of beds required by July 31 would be 150,000 or nearly twice the earlier projection.
“If the public and private sectors can work in coordination, this challenge can be easily met,” said Alok Roy, chair-ficci Health Services Committee.
Private hospitals have 1,441 beds for Covid patients; beds will be increased to 3,456. Of these, the maximum will be in Batra Hospital & Medical Research Centre in Tughlakabad (400), followed by Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in Sarita Vihar, with 300 beds for Covid patients.
The bigger challenge, however, is not ramping up the number of hospital beds but increasing manpower — trained doctors and nurses.
“For 80,000 beds, around 6,000 nurses will be required. Assuming in a normal ward with non-critical patients, one nurse can cater to 15 patients. There are three shifts — one nurse needs to be rested periodically,” said the owner of a mid-sized hospital in Delhi.
Shaleen Mitra, officer on special duty to Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain, said that every district magistrate (DM) has been asked to submit a list of banquet halls and stadia in their area.
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