Gandhinagar: Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel who is also State health minister today speaking at civil hospital in Asarwa said, the state government will launch a large scale testing drive post festival season in order to find out those infected with covid19 so that they can be treated and further spread of covid19 infection can be curbed.

Nitin Patel was here on Gujarati new year day morning to review the situation of availability of beds and medical services in view of fresh increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus infection during festival season.

Nitin Patel said instructions are issued to the 108 emergency ambulance service that covid patients should be taken to Sola civil hospital in Ahmedabad instead of Asarwa civil hospital for now in order to reduce load at Asarwa civil hospital. The patients who are in proximity to Gandhinagar should be taken to Gandhinagar based civil hospital, he added.

‘108 ambulance service has been instructed that covid patients from western Ahmedabad should be taken to a 500-bed civil hospital. Those in proximity of Gandhinagar should be admitted in civil hospital Gandhinagar in order to reduce workload on 1200 bed Ahmedabad civil hospital and waiting period can be avoided for patients. At both Sola and Gandhinagar civil hospitals, ICU beds are also available. After some four five days of festival season, all private and govt hospitals will be functional routinely,’ Nitin Patel said.

He further said, ‘the other decision taken in a review meeting today is for creation of 50 to 100 bed ICU ward at 1200-covid bed hospital in Asarwa civil.’

He said there’s no need to worry. If our advise on where to get admitted is followed, none would face any issue.

In reply to a question, Nitin Patel said some increase in the number of covid cases has been noticed in some districts of North Gujarat recently.

He said, all doctors, para medical staff are working round the clock without seeking leave during festivals in spirit of service to humanity.

‘At 1200-bed covid hospital at Asarwa, 581 are admitted. 170 are admitted in ICU and they are on ventilator support. There are 248 ventilators in Asarwa civil hospital that offer scope of admission of 78 more patients in present situation. Asarwa civil witnesses extra number of admission of covid patients because if other private and public hospitals deny admissions, the patients arrive here from other parts of the state too. In most of the cases, the doctors refer patients to Asarwa civil hospital only when the case is out of hand,’ he said.

‘Cancer and Kidney hospitals in Asarwa campus are treating patients that have covid and cancer/kidney both issues,’ Patel said.

‘We have received details from Amdavdad Municipal Corporation (AMC) that SVP hospital under AMC has sufficient facility. AMC has acquired beds in private hospitals also. In a last few days, there has been increase in number of patients and therefore they send patients to civil hospital.’

‘As per our review, Sola hospital run by the govt has 450 beds out of which 188 are occupied. 80 beds are in ICU with ventilator, of which only 17 are occupied. Gandhinagar based civil hospital has 300 beds, of which 196 occupied by covid patients. Gandhinagar civil has 100 beds ICU facility also of which only 20 beds are occupied. We are capable of adding 300 more patients in Sola and Gandhinagar and Civil. As and when ventilator supported patients are discharged and recovered, even more beds will be available,’ Patel said.

DeshGujarat