The temporary arrangements made in the district to treat COVID-19 patients are coming to an end, with first-line treatment centres (FLTCs) gradually shutting down. The COVID Care Centre at PVS Hospital is likely to be closed down by the end of the month.
FLTCs have been a strain on resources, particularly staff, according to health officials. Some FLTCs have been running only with a handful of patients, and health care workers had to be posted at the centres even for a small number of patients, they said.
Only four FLTCs are at present functioning where 24 people are being observed. They will be shut in about a week, and those who may require monitoring at FLTCs will be shifted to Community Health Centres (CHCs) where facilities are available for COVID patients. Some centres that were functioning out of educational institutions, like the one in Aluva, closed in December.
In July last year, the district administration had directed local bodies to set up FLTCs of around 50 to 100 beds each for asymptomatic people or those with mild symptoms, and a drive was held to collect essentials like bedsheets and pillows for the centres as donations. When cases surged last year, the district had around 20 FLTCs running with around 2,000 patients altogether, according to health officials.
But with more people with mild symptoms choosing to recover at home, the number of people seeking admission at FLTCs dwindled. Early in November, over a thousand people were being monitored at FLTCs. In the last week of January, the number had dipped to 235, further falling to 120 at the end of February.
The Kochi Corporation up readied two centres — one each at the Palluruthy and Mattancherry town halls. In some areas like Eloor and Ayavana panchayat, centres were set up but never used. In Eloor, a centre was set up at Manjummel, but staff appointments were not made, and eventually the need for one subsided, said A.D. Sujil, Municipal Chairperson. The items collected for the centre have been shifted to a hall for storage.
The centre at Mattancherry has been upgraded into a second-line treatment centre (SLTC), where category B patients, with more severe symptoms, can be treated. Other SLTCs continue to function at Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor, and Paravur.
Meanwhile, PVS Hospital, which has been treating critically-ill COVID patients, is likely to shut by the end of March, a senior health official said. The hospital is being acquired, and the buyers had recently enquired about handing the premises over to them.
The medical equipment purchased by the district administration or donated to the centre will be shifted to the District Hospital at Aluva, which is being converted into a treatment facility for seriously-ill patients.
