Hyderabad (Telangana): As the number of Covid-19 cases skyrockets across the country, the shortage of hospital beds and medical equipment has become a matter of grave concern. Reports and disturbing images of patients being administered oxygen in ambulances or wheelchairs, due to scarcity of beds, are all over the media.
At the moment, beds with oxygen facilities are urgently required to fight the pandemic. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President of the United States, suggested that India needs to go for a nationwide lockdown, extensive vaccination and a large-scale setup of makeshift hospitals to battle the current crisis to an extent.
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He added that even though half of the infected population needed intensive care, inadequate medical facilities and untrained faculty are crippling the country’s fight with Covid-19. The oxygen scarcity, he said, was a reflection of the dire situation the country is facing. He opined that it is imperative for every nation to help India overcome this crisis.
Must move on a war footing
China’s approach during the initial stages of the Covid-19 outbreak sets an example to all the nations. With the help of the army, the country has built the largest makeshift hospital in just 10 days. Beds were made of cardboard, with an attached oxygen pipe.
Oxygen was ensured to each bed using a centralized supply. Such arrangements were made in every state. The quick response during the initial stage not only prevented deaths but also contained the virus.
Additionally, China had set up 14 makeshift hospitals to isolate and treat COVID-19 patients. After the first case was detected in Wuhan city, the government appointed 42,000 medical staff in Hubei.
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India can follow China’s lead and deploy an army to set up makeshift hospitals to avoid bed scarcity. There are many instances in India that show a clear sight of systemic failure in planning and administration.
In Bihar, ventilators were sanctioned under PM Cares Fund but there was a shortage of trained staff to operate them. Even as patients lay dying, there were tens of unused ventilators in government hospitals.
Leave alone the suggestion to set up temporary hospitals, a makeshift medical facility in Delhi was demolished in February. Since the number of cases did not exceed 200 per day at that time, the government found it unnecessary to run the hospital.
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Initially, Uttar Pradesh had 503 COVID-19 hospitals with 1.5 lakh beds. But the number was gradually reduced, leaving only 83 hospitals and 17,000 beds by February. The situation in Karnataka is equally worse. Only 18,000 ICU beds were added to the existing ones.
Keeping in view the second wave, the Maharashtra government has reopened makeshift hospitals. The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has joined the COVID-19 battle and stepped in to set up temporary medical facilities.
Recently, it built a makeshift hospital with 500 beds in Delhi. The organization is in plans to set up similar ones in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on the other hand, is setting up temporary hospitals in Lucknow and Nashik.
Student participation crucial
The Goa government is setting up makeshift hospitals by itself. A group of Delhi lawyers came together to set up a temporary medical faculty with 50 beds. The State Bank of India has allocated Rs 71 crore to fight the second wave.
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Though temporary hospitals are a great option, the shortage of medical and paramedical staff can deter the motive. Dr Devi Shetty, founder of Narayana Health said that India would soon need one lakh doctors and up to 5 lakh nurses.
Recruiting final year medical and nursing students in COVID-19 wards cannot meet the immediate need to an extent. The central government needs to urgently focus on these issues to ward off the impending health emergency.
