With the rise in the number of patients requiring oxygen, the Health Department is adding over 6,000 oxygen beds in government medical college hospitals across the State.
In Chennai alone, 2,900 oxygen points are being added in the government COVID-19 hospitals.
R. Narayana Babu, Director of Medical Education, said the oxygen consumption was being reviewed on a daily basis.
“The number of patients requiring oxygen has increased. Earlier, 10% of patients required oxygen. This has increased to 30% now,” he said.
Work to add 2,900 oxygen points in Chennai was nearing completion. “Of this, Madras Medical College will have 550, Stanley Medical College Hospital will have 500, Government Corona Hospital in Guindy will have 250 and Kilpauk Medical College Hospital will have 100 points,” he said.
Another 3,400 oxygen supported beds will be readied across the State, he said. “Already, we have 4,000 oxygen supported beds. In total, government medical college hospitals in the State have a total of 53,000 beds for COVID-19 patients. We will increase the number of beds based on the need. We will use some oxygen beds in non-COVID wards for treating COVID-19 patients,” he added.
Increasing manpower
The Health Department was taking measures to increase manpower to manage patients with COVID-19.
“We are getting 1,200 doctors from mini clinics and 2,500 nurses who were on contract with the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services. Private colleges are deputing nurses for our institutions in Chennai, Chengalpattu and Coimbatore. Already, 500 nurses have been posted, while another 500 would be deputed to Chennai,” he said.
He added the pre-final nursing students were also being asked to join duty.
