Telangana: Not enough beds for Covid patients

Hyderabad: Notwithstanding the claims of the government that there was no shortage of beds in the State, the fact is that patients are facing severe problems to get admission in hospitals as finding beds is becoming a major problem.

The real-time bed locating website of the Health department shows that there are more than 26,000 beds available in the State in both government and private hospitals but the ground reality is different. Not only in Hyderabad but the districts, especially Nizamabad, Jagtial, Mancherial, Kamareddy which border Maharashtra are facing the same problem.

In the wake of extreme surge in the corona positive cases, the government recently halted all other treatment in government hospitals, and reserved beds for corona treatment. The Government has announced that it is increasing the number of beds from 20,000 to 61,000 in view of the severity of the corona virus. The government had directed private hospitals to suspend elective surgeries and provide 50 per cent beds for Covid patients. Private hospitals with ten beds were also allowed to treat Covid-19 patients.

Even small hospitals are not having any beds available and the situation is worsening by the day. In many cases, patients are being given oxygen at home or even in ambulances. A few hospitals have beds but oxygen and ventilator facilities are not available. So far Health Minister Etala Rajender has been repeatedly stating that there was no shortage of beds and that thousands of beds were available in government and private hospitals. While the number of beds according to government figures was 61,000, the health bulletin says that over 58,000 active corona cases were there.

According to experts, the number of registered doctors in the State is 30,000, while only half of them are engaged in the treatment of corona. If the number of active patients increased, the situation of Telangana may turn like Maharashtra or Madhya Pradesh, they fear. Night curfew has been imposed to curb the virus and if need be the government may have to go in for more restrictions, doctors and experts feel.