Private hospitals in Bengaluru ready to ramp up facilities in case of Covid surge

Covid preparedness levels in Bengaluru's private hospitals vary.

Those with Covid isolation wards plan to continue with the same while those without these are awaiting directions from the government or demand from patients.

While a circular from the health department has asked private hospitals to be prepared in case of a surge, no specifics were mentioned about bed numbers, oxygen capacity, etc. Hence there is no financial burden on the hospitals as of now.

Dr Yatheesh Govindaiah, president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), said that at a meeting on Thursday, BBMP only updated private hospitals about the scenario and asked them to be prepared.

"The BBMP already has an inventory of the facilities available with private hospitals in the previous waves. They asked PHANA to circulate a Google sheet among hospitals to add updates about beds and oxygen capacity."

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Dr Deepak P Balani, chief of medical services at Sakra Hospital, said the hospital never shut off its Covid ward completely.

The four-bed ICU section has been admitting patients sporadically, and more sections can be opened up over time if needed, he says.

Similar is the case with Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, said its medical director Dr Priya Goutham.

The Covid ward and ICU section here were downscaled but not shut off, as patients were admitted at times and the hospital didn't have high bed demand from non-Covid patients.

But several hospitals haven't had Covid patients for months. Dr Santosh Saklecha, joint director at Santosh Hospital, says their Covid ward had been shut due to a lack of admissions for about six months.

"We have not started setting aside beds or taking stock of inventory. This will start when the government gives directions or when we start getting a large number of calls for hospitalisation," he says.

The BBMP also asked private hospitals to test all ILI/SARI patients for Covid and send positive samples for genomic sequencing. Dr Yatheesh says that as testing numbers increase in hospitals, more Covid patients may get admitted.

"If a hospital doesn't have a Covid ward, it can enquire with other hospitals in their chain or with other member hospitals through PHANA. If there's higher requirement, facilities can be ramped up."

Some private hospitals like Sakra also have additional oxygen capacity installed during the previous Covid waves.

Hospitals have started enforcing Covid-appropriate behaviour.

"We are resuming sanitisation and to some extent, physical distancing," says Dr Saklecha.

Dr Balani says some measures like masking have continued in Sakra Hospital, and other aspects like thermal scanning of visitors will be resumed.