2nd Central team visits Beliaghata ID, MR Bangur; praises Bengal's preparedness to tackle Covid
Kolkata: The second Central expert team from the Union Health ministry lauded the state government's efforts to fight COVID-19 and also expressed satisfaction over the health infrastructure at Beliaghata ID Hospital, the first state-run nodal hospital to start the treatment of Corona patients.
Unlike the earlier group from the Union Home ministry that criticised the state government on various parameters and also courted huge controversy after as many as 10 BSF personnel, who accompanied them to various places, got infected with the virus and they were accused of non-cooperation by the state Health department.
Two expert doctors from the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH) — Aparajita Dasgupta and Leena Banerjee visited Beliaghata ID Hospital and MR Bangur on Wednesday to examine the infrastructure of the hospitals and treatment facilities. They were assigned by the Union Health Ministry to assess the performance of the state to check the COVID-19 situation. The two senior doctors sought details about patients and the method of treatment from both the hospital authorities, assessed the overall situation, collected information, including the number of patients currently admitted there, the infrastructural capacity and how the treatment protocol is being followed. After going through these details, the members expressed satisfaction to the Beliaghata ID officials and also mentioned it in the visitors' notebook. After visiting MR Bangur Hospital, they also pointed out that the hospital has shown a great deal of improvement within a short span of time since it started operating as a dedicated Covid hospital.
The first Central team had not visited Beliaghata ID Hospital but had gone to MR Bangur to take stock. The experts from AIIHPH also visited various containment zones under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to assess the situation at the ground level. The team has given a few suggestions to the Health department on how to conduct surveillance more effectively. An epidemiological survey would also be carried out to find out the nature of COVID-19 cases and how people are getting infected and at what rate.
