Rattled by the massive surge in number of Covid-19-affected asses in the state the health department has directed all private hospitals to arrange 60 per cent of indoor beds in each unit for novel coronavirus patients while the remain 40 per cent beds would be utilised for nonCovid patients.

Dr Ajay Chakraborty, director of health services (DHS), has directed the managements of private health care units to implement the move immediately. There has been acute crisis in availability of Covid beds in most of the government and private hospitals and medical colleges because of huge rush in number of coronavirus patients desperately seeking hospitalisation.

The health department has decided to set up a Covid ward accommodating 100 beds in the new building of R Ahamed Dental College Hospital on AJC Bose Road. Nearby N R S Hospital will monitor the treatment and management of Covid patients at the dental hospital. Many private hospitals and nursing homes have already stopped all planned non-emergency surgeries for at least two weeks from 21 April in a bid to accommodatemore Covid-19 positive patients.

The decision was taken a few days ago after the state government sat on a meeting with representatives of several private hospitals and nursing homes on Monday. The state chief secretary, Mr Alapan Bandopadhyay, urged the representatives of private healthcare units to increase number of beds by 25 per cent in order to provide indoor treatment to novel coronavirus-affected patients.

With alarming surge in number of Covid positive cases in the state the government wants to make arrangement of around eight thousand beds in private hospitals in the city.

“We have increased number of Covid beds in our hospital considering rush of patients. The number of beds has shot up to 171 from existing 33. Despite the increase 85 patients seeking admissions are still on the waiting list till today,” said Mr P Tondon, chief executive officer of Belle Vue Clinic.

AMRI Hospitals group does not have any vacancy of Covid beds in its three units at Dhakuria, Salt Lake and Mukundapur in the city. Around 40 patients are still in the waiting list for beds in the three units that has an accommodation for 241 indoor beds for Covid patients in all.