Health dept urges pvt hospitals to open 'observation ward'

Kolkata: The state Health department has urged the private hospitals in the city to set up an "observation ward" outside the premises of the hospitals to accommodate asymptomatic and mild symptomatic patients.

With an aim to combat the Corona outbreak, the Health department has sought information from private hospitals if they would be interested in introducing such observation wards, nearby their hospitals. The private hospitals will have to submit an application to the state government for seeking final permission to open such observation wards.

The state Health department has felt the need for augmenting the bed capacity of the existing hospitals in the city. The Bengal government has already set up 77 designated Covid hospitals across the state with 10,340 beds. Hospitals in the private sector are providing healthcare services to pandemic patients. As per the current protocol for the management of COVID-19 cases, asymptomatic and mild symptomatic patients can be kept in home isolation on the advice of a medical officer after obtaining a written declaration from the patients. Those who are elderly and also suffering from various comorbidities require hospital care. The state government has already issued guidelines in this regard.

Some private hospitals have recently expressed their interest to run separate health facilities in close vicinity of the existing hospitals where mild symptomatic and asymptomatic patients can be kept. This will remove the pressure of the designated Covid hospitals to a large extent. Considering the present situation, the state government will allow interim arrangement by private hospitals for three months.

Regular medical checkup of the persons staying at these 'observation wards' will be done on a daily basis by the concerned hospital authorities as per the existing guidelines of treatment of COVID-19 patients. The overall responsibility of treatment of the patients will lie with the hospitals and they shall ensure that all treatment protocols are properly observed, says the order.

Many private hospitals in the city, other than those announced as dedicated Covid hospitals, had already been requested by the Health department to set up a dedicated ward at the hospital for pandemic patients. The private hospitals have been urged to enhance infrastructure and increase bed capacity as a precautionary measure.