Priyana Chakravorty : As the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing on a daily basis and reaching to an unmanageable proportions, patients are facing an acute shortage of beds across hospitals in Kolkata. Most city hospital beds have been filled up and at every hospital the queue is getting longer. The crowd is ranging from 50 to 100 patients waiting list in each of the hospitals.
In this crucial time, the Hotel & Restaurants Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) has joined hands with the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI). Hotels have come forward to offer their rooms to serve as satellite centres of hospitals that are within a 2 Km-radius of respective hospitals.
Mr Sudesh Poddar, President, Hotel & Restaurants Association of Eastern India (HRAEI), said, “We have offered around 1,000 rooms across various categories of hotels, which can be attached to hospitals as satellites facilities. These centres will be used to accommodate COVID positive patients with mild to moderate symptoms, where the attached hospital will be treating them under the care and guidance of their medical teams, as per the guidelines and advisories framed by the Union Health Ministry and the State Health department.”
Mr Rupak Barua, President, Association of Hospitals in Eastern India, said, “Hospitals in Kolkata, Salt Lake, Rajarhat New Town, and adjoining areas have tied up with hotels and almost 500 rooms have been added as satellite facilities of hospitals. Asymptotic patients admitted in such satellite centres will be treated under strict supervision of qualified medical teams of the associated hospital, with round-the-clock presence of doctors and nursing staff. These centres will be equipped with necessary medicines, oxygen supply, and other treatment protocols.”
“More than 50 percent of the rooms in these satellite centres have been filled up with asymptotic patients and are being treated there. More and more hospitals are taking up such facilities and we expect more beds will be added at satellite centres over the next few days,” Mr Barua added. Although hospitals have been augmenting beds for COVID patients, the rising demand on a daily basis is still causing issues in finding beds at hospitals.
Mr Poddar said, “The arrangement between hotels and hospitals have been quite fruitful and the situation is expected to ease down within a few days. We have received interest from more hospitals to set up satellite centres and the number of beds at these centres will go up over the next few days.”
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