The Government Medical College and ESI Hospital in Coimbatore, the nodal treatment centre for COVID-19 in the region, has increased the number of beds with oxygen lines to handle more patients who have respiratory issues.
With more lines being added, 320 of the 450 beds at the hospital have the facility now. As on Thursday, around 90 of the 300-odd COVID-19 patients in the hospital need oxygen support, hospital Dean A. Nirmala said.
The hospital was giving a thrust to non-invasive ventilation for patients as invasive ventilation involved endotracheal intubation -- putting the tube into the trachea.
“We have 15 high flow oxygen machines for COVID-19 patients. Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) and Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines are also available for patient support,” she said.
So far, 2,527 COVID-19 patients from various districts, including Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Karur and Dindigul, were admitted to the hospital. Of these 2,167 persons recovered and got discharged. Forty patients from various districts died without responding to treatment, she said.
