Litigation poser forces district to shift locale of Covid dedicated hospital

BALURGHAT/Kolkata: Following litigation hurdles to start the proposed Covid hospital at Balurghat Youth Hostel, district administration and Health department have taken the unanimous decision to start the said hospital at Balurghat Natya Utkarsha Kendra by the end of this week.

The concerned authority has taken the step after a case was filed at Calcutta High Court a few days ago by a juvenile home authority raising health related issues of its boarders if the hospital starts there. Notably the Youth Hostel stands just adjacent to the juvenile home Subhayan.

Following the appeal, the Court has directed the authority that the possibility of any health hazard of the minor inmates cannot be entertained and it must ensured first. Immediately after the verdict, the decision of shifting the proposed hospital has taken place.

Now the work has been going on full-swing to turn Natya Utkarsha Kendra as Level-4 Covid Hospital. The health department has already started Safe Home there. Currently there are eight Safe Homes in the district with a 388 functional bedded capacity.

An official said the hospital will have 80-bed capacity. Critical symptomatic and mild symptomatic patients will be treated there.

The district's only Covid hospital has started functioning a few months ago at a private eye hospital in Balurghat. "We have some limitations there as we cannot admit a bulk of patients at a time following the scarcity of bed. The new hospital will be more spacious and modern facilities to treat the patients. After it starts functioning, the private eye facility will no longer be a Covid hospital," said an official.

The new hospital will have pulse-oximeters, ventilators, oxygen-cylinders, multi-screen monitors and X-Ray machines. Of 80 beds, 10 will be reserved for critical care units. There will be separate rooms for doctors and staff.

Meanwhile, Islamia Medical Institute (IMI) is all set to have an isolation ward in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have decided to set up an isolation ward at IMI situated at Park Circus seven crossing. The ward will have five beds to accommodate asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients," said Ishtiaque Ahmed, chairman of IMI, the smaller unit of the Islamia Hospital at Central Avenue.