Ongole: Mend ways or face axe, Collector Pola Bhaskara warns private hospitals

Ongole: The Prakasam district collector Dr Pola Bhaskara ordered the private hospitals to change their working style or get ready for closure.

The collector organised a review meeting with the COVID-19 nodal officers on Monday and said that the doctors and officials of other departments to work with a single motto to save the lives of the public.

The collector warned the private hospitals in the district on misbehaving with the Covid-19 patients. He said that they were receiving a number of complaints about hospitals denying admissions to the Covid patients in emergency and are looting the patients they admitted. He said that all countries are facing a pandemic situation and advised the managements of the hospitals to work on humanitarian grounds. He ordered the nodal officers appointed on the private hospitals to inspect and supervise them on a daily basis and warned the managements that they will seize the hospitals if they would not change their style of functioning yet.

The collector advised the officials to work as a rapid action force on the war footing until there is a vaccine for Coronavirus. He said that as the Union government has notified COVID-19 as a disaster and pandemic disease, the staff from other departments is also put on Coronavirus containment and control duty. He ordered that all officials should work in coordination in challenging situations, without thinking that it is not the responsibility of his department and keep continuous vigil as the number of cases is increasing.

Bhaskara announced that they are allotting a 104 vehicle and two 108 vehicles to work with the COVID care centers in each assembly constituency. He said that to increase the number of tests, 10 minibusses in the name of 'Meera' reached the district while the five Sanjeevini buses ordered to work permanently in Ongole, Markapuram, Darsi, Kanigiri and Kandukur constituencies. He ordered the officials to keep surveillance on the 3615 patients in the home quarantine, and keep ready beds, oxygen, and ventilators in the hospitals. He advised the officials to not show any negligence in identifying the primary contacts of the Coronavirus positive people.

The joint collector TS Chetan, DMHO Dr K Padmavathi, DCHS Dr Usharani, CPO D Venkateswarlu, DPO Narayana Reddy, ASP Prasad, GGH Superintendent Dr D Sriramulu and others also participated in the meeting.