Assam to turn 3 state-run hospitals into centers for treating

Even though no coronavirus case has been reported in Assam so far, the state government has decided to turn three state-run hospitals into centers for treating COVID-19 patients to deal with the situation as and when it arises, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday. All patients admitted to the general wards of the medical college and hospitals in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, and Silchar will be shifted to private medical establishments, he told reporters.

"We have decided to keep these three hospitals free from the burden of general patients. Even though no coronavirus case has been reported in the state, we are planning in advance to effectively tackle the situation as and when it arises. "The conversion of these three hospitals (into centers for treating COVID-19 patients) will strengthen our capacity to deal with the disease as we will have four to five thousand beds at our disposal along with ICUs and ventilation support," the minister said.

Sarma said four other medical colleges in the state will also be prepared to treat COVID-19 patients. The Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) will cease to be operational from Saturday for all general patients barring those being treated for cancer, those who are pregnant and the ones in the emergency ward, he said.

An MoU has been signed with 33 private hospitals in the city to transfer the GMCH patients to those facilities, the minister said. A similar agreement will be signed with private hospitals in Dibrugarh on Saturday and the Assam Medical College and Hospital there will also be dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients, he said.

The Silchar Medical College and Hospital will also be prepared for treating COVID-19 patients and a similar MoU will be signed with private hospitals in the south Assam town on Sunday, Sarma said. The minister said that the private hospitals have agreed to treat the patients under the Ayushman Bharat and Atal Amrit Abhiyan schemes.

He said that the validity of the MoUs will initially be for a period of two months and "depending on the situation, we will review it and take a call accordingly". Sarma said that final year MBBS, nursing, dental and Ayurvedic students will be imparted a seven-day training from Saturday to treat COVID-19 patients.

"We will soon have a resource map ready with us in which we will have four teams working for eight hours for seven days following which they will be quarantined for 14 days in the hospital," he said. The situation demands massive planning but "we are lucky that we have got the time to plan as no COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state so far," Sarma said.

Meanwhile, a tender will be floated for setting up five pre-fabricated hospitals with 300-bed capacity and ICU and ventilator facilities, he said. The hospitals are expected to cost around Rs 40 to Rs 50 crore each and are expected to be constructed within two months, the minister added.