Mumbai: Amid massive spike in cases, BMC alerts private hospitals to restore and ramp-up facilities

With coronavirus cases in Mumbai shooting up over 15,000 on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has alerted all private hospitals to restore and ramp-up facilities like number of Covid beds on the same lines as they did during the second wave of the pandemic. Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal wrote to private hospitals stating that since 10-12 per cent of patients were turning out to be symptomatic every day, more hospital beds would be required in a few days.

"This may be treated as an SOS for which I shall be personally grateful to all the private hospital's management. Therefore we must all rise to the occasion in this last phase of fight in Covid pandemic.," Chahal said.

He added,“We are planning for a worst-case scenario, though there is not much demand for beds now.It has come to my notice that symptomatic Covid patients have already started complaining of a shortage of Covid beds in private hospitals. Therefore all private hospitals are hereby directed that they shall immediately spruce up the number of Covid beds to the highest level which existed during the peak of the second wave in 2021,’’ said Chahal

"With over 95% cases being detected in non-slum areas, there would be a higher demand for private hospital beds because such patients are reluctant to go to corporation-run hospitals," Chahal stated in his letter.

The BMC chief said, that the formal directives to scale up bed numbers by January 10 will be issued to all 142 private hospitals in the city today, Chahal wrote. Corporation staff will inspect private hospitals from January 11 to check if the number of Covid beds has been restored to its peak level. "Though infections could rise substantially in the next five-seven days, the third wave is unlikely to last beyond four-five weeks, Chahal wrote citing “the South African experience”.

BMC staff will start inspecting private hospitals from January 11, 2022, onwards to cross-check if the number of Covid beds in each private hospital has been restored to its peak level earlier.

Not only this, each private hospital will update the increased Covid bed position on our real-time integrated single dashboard of bed allotment by individually informing Mahesh Narvekar- chief officer disaster management (9820702525 / 02222754232) at BMC headquarters control room.