2 Covid patients in the same bed in viral photos from Nagpur hospital

You see many beds that can accommodate two patients instead of one.

Nagpur:

Two Covid patients crammed into individual beds in images of a hospital in Nagpur in Maharashtra that have gone viral reflect the terrifying reality of a bed crisis as the state battles a massive surge in virus cases.

In the images from the Nagpur Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH), many beds are seen that can accommodate two patients instead of one, often with their feet against their faces, in a crowded room.

Officials say the crisis has worsened as people flock to government-run hospitals to avoid the higher cost of treatment at private hospitals and doctors refer critically ill patients to GMCH. But the hospital’s senior medical officer said the two-bed-in-one situation had since been resolved.

“According to the protocol, only moderate to severe Covid patients and the majority of critically ill brought in from out of town are admitted to the hospital,” said Avinash Gawande, the hospital’s medical superintendent.

Coronavirus – Terrifying Images Summarize the Scope of the Crisis in Nagpur.

“The workload at GMCH is very high. We are increasing the beds, but the situation is normal now, there is only one patient in a bed,” he said.

Nagpur reported more than 3,100 new Covid cases on Monday and 55 deaths. The total number of cases is 2.21,997.

BJP leader Chandrakant Bawankule alleged that those with Covid were being admitted to the same ward as patients who were being treated for other illnesses.

“There are no beds in Nagpur, and in this dance of death, the government sleeps like Kumbhakaran,” said Bawankule, a former minister of state.

Officials say the crisis has worsened as people flock to government-run hospitals.

He said that although there were three ministers in the Maharashtra government of Nagpur, none of them were in the city. “There is no planning and these ministers do not bother. They are busy in other places,” he alleged.

Maharashtra is the hardest hit state in India amid a surge in virus cases.

As cases of coronavirus rise in Mumbai, the city’s civic body is also preparing for a possible shortage of hospital beds and has put together a plan to add and reserve more beds for Covid patients. In private hospitals, all ICU beds and 80 percent of all Covid beds will be reserved for centralized patient allocation through the civic body’s “ward war rooms.”