Till date, 53 cases of H1N1 flu has been confirmed in the city and Bangalore has around 29 beds to accommodate the swine flu victims.
After India reported its first swine flu death on Monday, Bangaloreans are worried whether the city medical experts are fully equipped to tackle an outbreak of the disease here.
Till date, 53 cases of H1N1 flu has been confirmed in the city and Bangalore has around 29 beds to accommodate the swine flu victims. Shortly, another 26 beds for H1N1 victims will be added in the hospitals across Bangalore.
“We are prepared to handle any outbreak of swine flu in the city and we have already successfully treated around 52 patients. We are making arrangements for 26 additional beds at Indiranagar General Hospital and Yellahanka General Hospital apart from the existing facilities at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, Victoria Hospital and Lakeside Hospital. In a couple of weeks, these additional beds should be ready,” said Dr TS Chelvaraju, Joint Director, Health and Family Welfare Department.
But 55 beds won’t be sufficient in case of a swine flu outbreak in the city. “In that case, we’ll consider the private hospitals. But we can’t allow any patient to be shifted to any private hospital. We first need to inspect the hospital and see to it that it has adequate facilities to keep H1N1 victims in isolation, before permitting them to treat swine flu patients,” said Dr Chelvaraju. “We are planning to meet up with a few private hospitals in the coming days,” he added.
As far as the private hospitals are concerned, Lakeside Hospital is the only one identified for treating flu affected people. “The Health and Family Welfare Department approached us to join hands with them and since then we are treating H1N1 victims here,” said Dr H Paramesh, pediatric pulmonologist and director, Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital.
Dr Paramesh, who is also President of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association of the city, added that the private hospitals are ready to accommodate and treat swine flu victims.
“As far the government’s directives are concerned, private hospitals are not allowed to treat these cases on their own without permission from the government,” said Dr Lloyd Nazarath, COO, Wockhardt Hospital.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}