Private hospitals to reserve 40% beds as the cases rise

Bengaluru: Private hospitals have been asked to reserve 40 per cent of their beds for government-referred Covid-19 patients as the city witnesses a sudden spike in cases.

After a virtual meeting on Saturday, officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) suggested that private hospitals should be prepared to treat more Covid-19 cases in the upcoming days.

Representatives of more than 80 private hospitals attended the virtual meeting which was headed by BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta. The two main points were creating adequate treatment capacity and increasing the vaccination coverage.

Presently, there are 26,544 cases in the city while more than 85 per cent are home isolated.

Only those who have severe covid symptoms shall be admitted to the hospital.

Dr HM Prasanna, president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes’ Association (PHANA) said, “Private hospitals have been asked to reserve up to 40 per cent of the beds for patients referred by BBMP under the Suvarna Aarogya Suraksha Trust. However, we have been told that a detailed government circular will follow.”

Officials had asked private hospitals to reserve 50 per cent of their beds when cases were high on June 23, 2020.

The requirement was relaxed in November 2020 as the infection rates decreased.

BBMP has sent 43,863 patients to private hospitals since June.

The civic body said that private hospitals had been paid Rs 133.2 for treating 31,624 patients.

Some corporate hospitals have expressed concern about this directive.

The chairperson of a leading hospital in Bengaluru said, “A year ago, treatment for conditions other than Covid-19 took a back seat and hence, we had beds dedicated for Covid care. It’s not the same now. Leaving 40 per cent of the beds for Covid care will lead to a further shortage of beds for other patients. It’s a tricky scenario.”

The chairperson added that even though the private hospitals are now prepared and experienced than before, their might be problems if staff managed both covid care and other treatments.

Dr Prasanna affirmed, “The BBMP commissioner has assured us that hospitals with fewer than 50 beds would not be asked to reserve befs for covid patients at this stage.” Therefore, there is a relief for smaller facilities.

BBMP special commissioner (health), Rajendra Cholan P said that a well-planned strategy was needed as he expressed his concern over the rising cases.

He added, “We don’t know what is going to be the condition in the next one week. Currently, we have 1,200 beds in government hospitals and medical colleges. Private medical colleges in the city have 4,000 beds. Of these, nearly half can be reserved for Covid.