KOLKATA: A 10-member expert committee, constituted by the state government to take preventive measures ahead of the possible third wave, has already started to chalk out an elaborate plan and identify the challenges and difficulties faced by the Health department during previous two waves so that they can be overcome.
The expert committee held a meeting at Swasthya Bhawan on Thursday to discuss various aspects including the prospects as to how more beds can be dedicated for the treatment of children and mothers without hampering general treatment. The committee has also been looking into the difficulties which the various hospitals had faced during the first wave of Covid and also during the current wave. The expert committee is trying to iron out those problems before the potential third wave.
The committee has also started assessing the requisite infrastructural, logistical and clinical preparedness of various health establishments to meet the challenges which may emerge in the near future. The expert committee will also examine the rational way to allot beds for the children and mothers. It will also review where and how more NICU and PICU can be set up for the treatment of children who may be infected with the virus. The committee will make such necessary recommendations to the Health department on the basis of its observation.
The expert committee comprises Dr GK Dhali, OSD (Covid) and professor of IPGMER, Dr Maitrayee Banerjee from IPGMER, Dr Dilip Pal, principal of BC Roy Children Hospital, Dr Yogiraj Roy, School of Tropical Medicines, Dr Soumitra Ghosh from IPGMER, Dr Mrinal Kanti Das of IPGMER, Dr Bibhuti Saha of School of Tropical Medicine, Dr Ashutosh Ghosh from IPGMER, Dr Jyotirmoy Pal, RG Kar Medical College and Dr Abhijeet Chowdhury from IPGMER. Director of Health Services and Director Medical Education will work along with the expert committee to ensure that all preparatory steps are taken to deal with the third wave of pandemic.
The state Health department has plans to dedicate at least 26,000 beds for women and children in both government and private hospitals. Around 1,300 PICU and 350 NICU beds would be put in place in the state to handle the unforeseen situation. Pediatric ventilators will be placed in adequate numbers in the district hospitals so that they can treat critical children.