CM Jai Ram Thakur directs to ramp up availability of beds for Covid patients in Kangra district

Dharmshala: Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while presiding over the meeting with senior officers of Kangra district through video conferencing from Chamba today directed to increase additional bed capacity in the district to facilitate the covid-19 patients in view of sharp surge in cases of this pandemic in the district.

The Chief Minister said that makeshift arrangements should be made in Paraur to provide additional 250 bed capacity within next 10 days which would be gradually increased to about 1000 beds. He said that proper and smooth supply of oxygen must be ensured and ICU bed capacity must be enhanced to provide better treatment to critically ill patients.

Jai Ram Thakur said that private laboratories must be empanelled and requisitioned so that more RT-PCR tests could be conducted and results could be provided to the patients at the earliest. He said that a foolproof mechanism must be evolved for transportation of patients to the hospitals besides making adequate arrangements of drop back vehicles to transport the patients back home after treatment.

He said that Government of India has sanctioned six PSA oxygen plants for the State which would be set up at civil hospital, Palampur, zonal hospital Mandi, civil hospital Rohru and civil hospital Khaneri in Shimla district, Dr. Y.S Parmar government medical college and hospital Nahan and regional hospital Solan. He said that this would ensure adequate oxygen supply to about 1400 beds in these health institutions.

Jai Ram Thakur said that the government has also decided to provide incentives to various categories of doctors and para-medical staff on duty in Covid hospitals. He said that 4th and 5th year MBBS students, contractual doctors and Junior/Senior Residents would be provided an incentive of Rs. 3000 per month, nursing students, GNM third year students and contractual lab staff would be provided an incentive of Rs. 1500 per month till 30 June, 2021.

The Chief Minister said that the state government was striving hard to increase the bed capacity throughout the State particularly in districts with high load of Covid-19 patients. Apart from 1000 bed capacity to be created at Paraur, efforts were on to create bed capacity of 200 at Radha Swami Satsang Vyas complex at Mandi and 300 additional bed capacities at new OPD block of IGMCH, Shimla. He said that in addition, the space has also been identified at Baddi-Barotiwala area for creating an additional 500 bed capacity for the Covid patients.

Later, Chief Minister also visited Radhaswami Satsang Vyas at Paraur in Kangra district and gave necessary directions for construction of makeshift Covid hospital at the earliest.

Deputy Commissioner Kangra Rakesh Prajapati said that till date as many as 359489 samples have been tested out of which 19570 have been found positive. He said that there were 5384 active cases in the district and the positivity rate of the district was 5.44 percent while recovery rate was 70.34 percent. The vaccination drive was going on smoothly in the district and till date 3,82,851 doses of vaccine had been administered to frontline workers, corona warriors and people of above 45 years.

Speaker, HP Vidhan Sabha Vipin Singh Parmar, Deputy Speaker Hans Raj, MP Indu Goswami, MLA Mulkh Raj Premi, Chairman, Wool Fed Trilok Kapur, former MLA Praveen Sharma, Principal, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College Tanda Dr. Bhanu Awasthi and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.