Wenlock hospital in Mangaluru will now be Covid-19 dedicated

MANGALURU: The

Wenlock

District Hospital will henceforth be converted into a dedicated Covid-19 hospital, said Karnataka minister

Kota Shrinivas Poojari

on Thursday.

The minister told reporters that the 250-bed superspeciality block will be converted into a dedicated one to treat Covid-19 positive patients. The hospital’s 20-bed Ayush block will be used to treat suspected cases, and the positive cases will be shifted to the superspeciality block. The 705-bed capacity old block will be used in phases for admission of Covid-19 patients.

The 218 patients currently admitted for various ailments at the Wenlock hospital will be shifted to various private medical colleges in the next three days. Patients who visit the out-patient ward will have to visit the nearby medical colleges for treatment. If need be, arrangements to shift such patients will be made, Poojari said.

“There will be no difference in the cost of treatment in private hospitals. All concession that patients receive at the government hospital will be provided by private hospitals,” he said.

The government has decided to shift 140 children receiving treatment at the Regional Advanced Paediatrics Care Centre (RAPCC) to close by private hospitals. In the coming days, based on the need, this building will also be used to treat Covid-19 patients, he said.

Every private hospital has to set up a triage room and in case of any suspected Covid-19 cases, the patients will have to be shifted to Wenlock hospital immediately. In future, depending on the situation, hospitals have been directed to set up a 20-bed isolation ward. For the shifting of patients from Wenlock hospital and to ensure facilities at private hospitals, a co-ordination committee has been formed. Dr Kishore Kumar from the health and family welfare department has been appointed as the nodal officer to this committee. If need be, in the future, coordination between taluk hospitals and private hospitals will be replicated in all taluks.

On personal protective equipment (PEE), the minister said, procurement will be from local factories and from the health and family welfare department, Bengaluru.

Doctors and 122 staff nurses of Wenlock hospital have obtained ICU training, and in case of any shortage, the government will seek the support of private medical colleges to train their staff nurses. An expert committee including district health and family welfare officer; medical superintendent, Wenlock hospital and Dr Prasanth Marla will meet and discuss an action plan.

Currently, Wenlock hospital has 32 ventilators and efforts are on to provide an additional 100 ventilators in the new building.

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