With the dramatic fall in Covid numbers, 91% of the beds in private hospitals reserved for government quota have fallen vacant, allowing hospitals to get back many of the beds and provide them for non-Covid services.
Out of the 4,772 beds given by private hospitals to municipal authorities in Bengaluru at the start of the second wave, nearly 85% are currently free, including 55% of ICU beds. In private medical colleges, out of 6,647 beds given, 96.1% (or 6,394 beds) are vacant. In all, about 10,469 out of 11,419 private sector beds are currently free.
The result, according to Dr R Ravindra, immediate past president of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), is entire swathes of beds lying unused at hospitals across the city.
“While the demand for non-Covid medical services has not yet picked up in the wake of Unlock 2.0, some beds are being seized up by patients with post-Covid sequelae such as mucormycosis, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS) in children and vascular problems,” he said.
BBMP Special Commissioner D Randeep said beds within the civic body’s jurisdiction under general and HDU categories will be capped at 20% and 40%, respectively, rather than 50% as per government directions. “However, the quota of ICU and ICU-ventilator (ICU-V) beds will remain the same,” he added.
The BBMP estimated the revised bed total to be 5,481, including 1,971 general, 2,390 HDU, 526 ICU and 594 ICU-V beds.
In addition, 86 hospitals with 50 beds or less will be temporarily released for private admissions, according to the government resolution, Randeep said.
This, however, has raised concerns in government circles due to the high mobility levels seen in the city that could trigger a surge in Covid cases.
Google mobility data, for example, shows that there has been a 9.5% increase in the number of people in public places in Bengaluru Urban and a 7% decline in the number of people staying at home over a seven-day period from June 11 to June 17.
Influx into city
“There has also been an influx of people into the city,” pointed out a senior official who did not want to be named. “We should ideally wait for the next two weeks to see if there is a surge of cases before relinquishing the beds.”
Randeep insists that the original government order reserving 50% beds still stands, while the BBMP has been given special instructions to release the number of beds made available under the government quota. “If there is a surge in cases, we can reclaim the beds as per the standing government orders,” he said.