Bed requirement for Covid-19 patients more than our capacity: Nitin Patel

Patel said it is the government's obligation to save each and every patient turned away by other hospitals

For the first time, the Gujarat government on Sunday admitted that all coronavirus-designated hospitals across the state are full. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is also the health minister, said that with the state reporting over 9,000 new cases, the capacity of beds, oxygen and other facilities for treatment is much lower than the required numbers. Patel said that the "Second peak is continuing, the infection has not left any taluka, district untouched and it is increasing."

"The way cases are increasing, all arrangement are falling short. Our all government hospitals-be it civil hospitals, medical college hospitals, district hospitals or CHC (community health centres), all under tremendous pressure. We are thankful to our doctors, paramedical staff who are working round the clock without taking any break. But the second wave is so intense that the number of new patients has increased more than the health department's capacity. Still, we are trying to arrange facilities," Patel said in a press conference in Ahmedabad.

Later on Sunday evening, the state reported a record 10,340 new positive cases on Sunday and 110 deaths, the highest since the onset of the pandemic last year. The number of active cases rose to 61,647, out of which 329 patients were on ventilators. What is worrying is the fact that the recovery percentage has fallen to nearly 83% from nearly 97 per cent in January this year.

Also read: India's Covid-19 positivity rate doubles to 16.69% in 12 days, says Government

Saying that most of the government hospitals across the state are full, Patel appealed, "Those patients whose oxygen level drops drastically from 95 only those should request for admission in the hospitals. Be it Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar or any other city in the state, all hospitals, district government-run, corporation-run and even private designated hospitals, are running almost full."

Talking about a load of new patients seeking admission in the hospitals, Patel said that "On average, there is a waiting call of 300 to 400 patients at civil hospital in Ahmedabad alone." Although the state government earlier last week had claimed before Gujarat High Court that it had arranged 71,000 beds across the state to meet the demand. The court, which is hearing a suo motu public interest litigation, had remarked that if there were so many beds, why were people waiting outside hospitals to get admission.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Sunday admitted that the present requirement of beds and other healthcare facilities in the wake of the spike in coronavirus cases is more than the state administration's capacity.

Patel, who handles the health portfolio, said though the state government is adding more facilities and beds at regular intervals to accommodate more patients, it fell short of demand.

"Over 9,000 new coronavirus cases are emerging in Gujarat every day. Though we are adding new facilities and beds at regular intervals, it falls short against the demand as the inflow of coronavirus patients is much higher," Patel told reporters at civil hospital campus here.