The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was supposed to increase its medical infrastructure in the 10-day lockdown that was imposed in the city. However, it has come to light that there are no beds for critical patients and the officials are advising the patients to go to the neighbouring twin-city of Pimpri-Chinchwad for treatment.
Road department head VG Kulkarni, who heads the bed management cell, confirmed to Pune Mirror that there are no beds for critical patients. She said, “We do not have any beds for critical patients. We are trying to send those who can pay for treatment to hospitals in Pimpri-Chinchwad. In our city, nothing is left.”
District Collector Naval Kishore Ram admitted that there was a shortage of beds in the city. "It is true that the situation is bad. But we are working hard and trying to improve it in the next few days,” he said and added, “In the twin towns (Pimpri Chinchwad), beds with ventilators are still available. But the movement of patient needs to be done carefully. Coordination is needed with a hospital to make a bed available."
Reportedly, Pune has 3,701 beds with oxygen support, and 475 beds with ventilator support. By July 31, the city will is predicted to face a shortage of 11,822 beds without oxygen, 652 beds with oxygen, 848 ICU beds and 374 ventilator beds. This is because of a huge surge in the COVID-19 cases in the city.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in Pune district rose by 2,072 in the last 24 hours to reach 64,074, while the toll touched 1,615 as 53 people died during the day, an official said on Friday.
Of the new cases, 892 were detected in Pune Municipal Corporation limits, which now has 41,604 cases, while Pimpri Chinchwad accounted for 811 which took its caseload to 14,956, he added.
The number of cases in rural and cantonment areas of the district is 7,505.
"A total of 817 persons were discharged in the last 24 hours," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
