Last four Covid-19 cases leave Bengaluru's Victoria Hospital

The last four Covid patients being treated at government-run Trauma and Emergency Care Centre (TECC) on the Victoria Hospital campus left the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) campus on Tuesday and were transferred to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Shivajinagar. TECC and Victoria Hospital are affiliated to BMCRI.

“For the first time since March 27, 2020, the state’s largest Covid facility is vacant,” said Dr Smitha Segu, nodal officer for Covid-19 at BMCRI.

“The government has decided that keeping an entire building vacant for four patients was not advisable. Henceforth, all new Covid patients will be referred to Bowring Hospital that has reserved its eighth floor for Covid patients,” said Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital dean Dr Manoj Kumar.

“We currently have 13 Covid patients (nine from Bowring, four from BMCRI) and can accommodate up to 40 patients,” he said.

Also Read | Covid facilities in Karnataka didn’t have monthly fire audits

“Once the 200-bedded field hospital at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) gets ready in a month, the patients will be shifted there,” said Dr Manoj Kumar.

Dr Deepak S, special officer, TECC, said that since March 2020, the hospital has treated 12,556 Covid patients and discharged 10,342.

As many as 2,115 Covid patients have died while 207 Mucormycosis (a Covid complication) patients have been admitted.

“TECC will start non-Covid services after disinfection procedures. The last three Covid patients (two of them women) in the ward and one in the stepdown ICU were stable and fit to be transferred. They are well and stable at Bowring now. RGICD will continue Covid services from December 10,” Dr Deepak said.

Giving a lowdown of how RGICD will handle a third Covid wave if and when it comes, Dr C Nagaraj, director of RGICD said, “The government has decided to set up modular hospitals for HDU beds and ICU beds with ventilators with the help of CSR partners in the land adjacent to the existing RGICD. By Wednesday or Thursday, we expect it to be ready and handed over to us.”

Two units have been set up and will function as part of the existing institute. This facility has negative pressured cabins (called mediCAB). One unit of 90 beds has 60 oxygenated and 17 ICU beds. There is a triage centre of 13 beds as well as accommodation for 18 staff (clinical and non-clinical).

The second unit has 96 critical care beds in total, including 78 oxygenated beds and 18 ICU beds with ventilators. Both the units were built at a cost of Rs 9 crore by Friends of Swasti, a public health agency, and Texas Instruments.

Check out latest DH videos here