BBMP digs deep to address shortage of oxygen beds

The BBMP is digging deep into its healthcare resources to overcome the shortage of oxygen beds in Bengaluru. It's now converting many of its maternity homes into 'Transit Oxygen Centres'.

The first such facility came up at the maternity home in Wilson Garden on Thursday while 10 more are in the process of being established.

These centres will have dedicated triaging rooms and will provide supplemental oxygen to patients until they get beds in the ICU, said Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commissioner, BBMP.

Gupta said they were doing their best to resolve the issue pertaining to the generation of BU numbers. BU, or Bengaluru Urban, numbers are assigned to patients once they test positive for Covid-19. The number helps them apply for government-quota beds in private hospitals. But many people have faced problems in generating it. Ditto with the SRF (Specimen Referral Form) ID, which is generated when a person takes the Covid-19 test.

According to Gupta, the testing centre at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology is doing 6,000 tests a day and can do another 14,000. He promised that generating the BU number or the SRF ID wouldn't be a problem because "everything is automated". "We have discussed the issues related to the delay in the generation of BU numbers and are addressing them," he added.

While Bengaluru has reported a drastic rise in coronavirus infections, the 13 Covid Care Centres set up by the BBMP for treating asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients remain largely unoccupied.

As of 5 pm, April 30, the bed occupancy at the CCCs was a dismal 29%. Out of the total 2,100 beds, only 800 have been occupied, Gupta said.

The BBMP is planning to convert at least 20% of the beds at the Covid Care Centres into oxygenated beds. Every CCC will have a triaging centre where doctors will evaluate the condition of patients before referring them to hospitals. Around 130 oxygen concentrators are also being installed at the CCCs.

Gupta acknowledged the shortage of beds in both private and government hospitals, and said the demand was rising with each passing day.

After facing criticism for ignoring home-isolated patients, the BBMP has announced distributing medical kits for them. The Karnataka Drugs Logistics was initially asked to supply the kits but it faced constraints. The BBMP zones have been given the necessary funds to procure one lakh medical kits (consisting of drugs and other items) and distribute them to patients in the next three days, Gupta said.