TIRUCHI
Gearing up to face any eventuality in the wake of increasing COVID-19 cases, the State government has decided to provide oxygen supply to all beds in the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchi.
The hospital attached to the K.A.P. Viswanatham Medical College serves patients from Tiruchi, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Karur and Pudukottai districts and has about 1600 beds. When COVID-19 began to spread, a special isolation ward with 12-beds was set up initially. One more ward was added subsequently. The fast spreading cases forced the hospital authorities to allot a super speciality block to treat COVID-19 patients.
As far as Tiruchi district was concerned, it is claimed that the spread of COVID-19 virus is under control. As on Saturday 17 patients, who had tested positive for COVID virus, were under treatment at the MGMGH.
However, it remains to be seen whether the trend will continue when public transport and inter-district movement is allowed. To face the worst case scenario, the State government has asked the MGMGH authorities to ramp up facilities for treating as many patients as possible. In the first phase, it had been decided to connect at least 700 beds with oxygen supply.
K. Vanitha, Dean, MGMGH, told The Hindu that the there were 7 Intensive Care Units (ICU) in the hospital. All of the beds in ICUs had oxygen connection.
In addition to them, it had decided to provide oxygen supply to as many beds as possible. Though it was aimed at creating facilities for COVID-19 patients, it would serve all kinds of patients in the long run.
R. Yeganathan, Medical Superintendent, MGMGH, said that the Public Works Department had been executing the project on urgent basis. All 32 beds in the speciality block, where COVID-19 patients were treated, have been provided with ventilators. It had been decided to create a centralised suction unit at the COVID-19 ward to treat the patients. The work had already been started and would be completed within a week.
