Govt portal reflecting incorrect bed data
The Haryana government’s web portal covidharyana.in, which was launched last month to provide information regarding availability of hospital beds for Covid patients, is depicting the wrong picture.
While the portal shows hospitals have vacant oxygen and ICU beds, institutions have been turning away patients.
When an HT team called the helpline numbers issued by hospitals in Rohtak, Jind, Sonepat, Rewari, Hisar, Bhiwani and Jhajjar districts on Thursday, only two hospitals – both privates Sanjay
Multi-Specialty Hospital at Jhajjar’s Bahadurgarh and Om Hospital in Rewari - said they had oxygen beds available.
But, on the portal, 5,190 beds are available across the state, of which 2,216 are oxygen beds, 2,621 non-oxygen beds, 350 ICU beds and 199 with ventilators.
Of these, 72 beds are said to be in Rewari, of which 21 are oxygen beds, 51 non-oxygen beds and no ICU bed; 291 beds (oxygen 202, non-oxygen beds 62 and ICU 27) in Rohtak; 148 beds (oxygen 37, non-oxygen 97 and 14 ICU beds) in Bhiwani; 540 beds (218 oxygen beds, non-oxygen 304, 18 ICU beds) in Jhajjar; 211 beds (oxygen 109, non-oxygen 69 and ICU 33) in Jind; 410 beds (179 oxygen, non-oxygen 210 and ICU 21) in Sonepat; and 37 beds (11 oxygen, non-oxygen 21 and ICU five) in Hisar.
Four private hospitals in Bhiwani have issued the same helpline number and the calls went unanswered, while no beds were available at the local civil hospital. The portal shows that PGIMS, Rohtak, has 131 beds vacant, of which 125 are oxygen beds, 125 non-oxygen beds, 10 ICU beds and six with ventilators, but the authorities said all were occupied.
Jind civil surgeon Dr Manjeet Singh said only private hospitals were refusing to admit new patients despite the portal showing bed availability because of shortage of oxygen.
“We don’t have beds available in government hospitals and private hospitals are admitting new patients according to their oxygen supply,” Singh added.
Rewari deputy commissioner Yashendra Singh said some private hospitals were not updating true information and he had asked them to update it.
Jhajjar civil surgeon Dr Sanjay Dahiya also said some hospitals were not admitting patients due to shortage of oxygen. Civil surgeons of Bhiwani, Rohtak and Sonepat could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.