Phase-2 of Covid-19 treatment: Telangana out to ramp up bed capacity

Hyderabad: With spike in number of positive cases in the State over the last few days the Telangana government is gearing up to meet all eventualities.

Private medical colleges which have teaching hospitals with bed capacity of 800 to 1,000 mostly have been asked to prepare isolation and ICU wards for treatment of infected patients.

Accordingly, a maximum of 15,000 beds are being readied in private medical colleges spread across the state. Health Minister Eatala Rajender held a meeting with private medical college representatives on Friday in this regard.

He requested them to stop OP services from Monday onwards and get the facilities ready within a week's time.

The minister stated that PPE kits, passes, transport arrangements for doctors and medical staff posted in Covid-19 duties including meals facility would be taken care of by the government only.

He wanted each college to appoint a nodal officer who will be in regular touch with Kaloji Health University VC Dr Karunakar Reddy to co-ordinate on this issue.

The minister said that in the first phase treatment facilities in government hospitals would be utilised and if cases increase rapidly then admissions and treatments would be done in private medical colleges in and around the city.

In phase-3, new and private medical colleges in districts would be utilised, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Private Medical Colleges Association president C Lakshmi Narasimha Rao stated that each college would be allocating 50 per cent of beds initially for this purpose, but if there is a big spurt in number of cases colleges would have to allocate total bed strength for treatment of Covid-19 patients, he said. States that have reported Covid-19 cases

States that have reported Covid-19 cases