The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) administration is in the efforts to mobilise more beds for COVID-19 treatment after it started witnessing patients waiting in ambulances for hours for admission.
According to a senior official of the hospital, 40 beds with oxygen concentrators were kept ready for COVID-19 patients late on Tuesday. These beds were arranged in a ward which used to accommodate patients who undergo plastic surgery.
As per details shared by the Coimbatore district administration, the hospital had a total number of 1,055 beds as of Tuesday evening. Of the total beds, 338 were normal beds, 504 were beds with oxygen supply and 213 ICU beds. Of these, all ICU beds were occupied and only three O2 beds were remaining vacant as of Tuesday evening.
According to doctors working in COVID-19 wards, patients who require oxygen support and ICU care were being referred in large numbers to CMCH in critical stages. With all the ICU beds mostly remaining occupied, the hospital was facing a tough situation to admit such patients who are in critical condition, they say.
On Wednesday, Additional Chief Secretary Atulya Misra visited CMCH along with Coimbatore District Collector S. Nagarajan and reviewed the preparedness of the hospital in handling COVID-19 cases that are on the rise.
