Hyderabad: Jalpally municipal officials wage war against coronavirus

Hyderabad: Like the Covid-19 frontline warriors from different walks of life and NGOs, some bureaucrats and officials of suburban municipalities have rolled up their sleeves to combat the infection with augmented measures from their end, in addition to what the government has initiated.

The Jalpally Municipal officials, under the supervision of Commissioner G Praveen Kumar, arranged an additional medical team in a recently set up Covid-19 centre at Pahadisharif, to give timely treatment to the patients.

The centre was established last month with a doctor and a nurse, deployed by the government, to supervise the 40-bed makeshift facility and to treat the infected patients. The officials sponsored an additional medical team at the centre, including a doctor, two paramedics, and an attendant to augment the service at their own expenses.

"Everyday the facility admits around 8-10 patients; 50 per cent of them are recovering. As the centre is operating with cylinders, we are referring patients with below 80 per cent pulse rate to TIMS, Gachibowli or Gandhi Hospital, as we are not having high-end medical apparatus, like ventilators, and expert team to operate it. However, medics are trying to provide maximum care to patients with available apparatus at the centre. They are referring to other hospitals only when the situation demands or in case of emergency," said the commissioner.

"We are planning to augment the medical team if patients increase. The centre at Premier Plaza, Jalpally, is an initiative of Minister for Education Sabitha Indra Reddy," Kumar said, corroborating the co-operation of Municipal chairman Mohd Abdullah Saadi.

"Besides providing timely medical treatment to distressed families of patients, the civic body is arranging meals twice a day to patients and taking care of maintenance of the facility, along with sanitation and sanitary. Our primary focus is to provide timely treatment to patients with available facility at the centre," informed S Anjanna, municipal supervisor.

Of the 40 beds 38 are earmarked for patients, while two are reserved to observe machinery like X-ray and for doctor's cabin. The centre, which is working as a transit point between the Jalpally Municipality and well-equipped hospitals in the City to provide patients' families enough time to arrange a well-equipped hospital for the infected.