Guj govt committed to protect the public health

Gujarat government had set up the facilities required for covid treatment in advance from time to time as per the Standard Operating Procedure. Sayaji and Gotri hospitals had earlier set up separate wards to provide contagion-free treatment.

By setting up an advanced tertiary care facility at Sayaji Hospital in Vadodara, the number of beds was increased to 575 as per the demand and an entire building was reserved for it. From March, under the direct instructions of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, and guidance of Officer on Special Duty and the Secretary of Education, Dr. Vinod Rao, these facilities were continuously expanded. Advanced life-saving devices and equipment including oxygen supply were added which increased the strength of the health system to face the challenges of this brand new disease.

The Administrative Nodal Officer of this facility is Dr. O.B. Belim and according to an interesting analysis done, Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh per day has been spent for treatment and other facilities from the government treasury for the last 6 months on an additional proportion of the number of admitted patients.

He estimated that when the number of admitted patients was around 100, the daily cost for their facilities including food, medicine was Rs. 15 to 20 lakhs. The treatment facility of a total of 575 beds is provided by the state government here, 100 beds equipped with state-of-the-art life-saving ventilator, 50 beds without ICU ventilator, thus, 150 bed ICU / semi ICU, facility of providing oxygen to 300 beds and other simple beds for the patients with very low impact is provided here. The facility was taken advantage of not only in Vadodara city and district but also in the districts of Central and South Gujarat and neighboring states.

Dr. Belim said that the medical team led by expert doctors examines each patient at least twice a day, inspecting the case paper, improving and modifying the treatment through consultation. Treatment is modified according to the patient’s co-morbidity in consultation with physicians specializing in other diseases. Following the ICMR guideline, the treatment is being given at the facility. The number of patients has definitely decreased but the treatment is being done with the same intensity.

Along with this, the patient is provided with necessary facilities including breakfast, milk, two meals in the morning. According to the advice of experts, blood reports can be taken as often as the patient needs, X-ray near the bed by a portable machine, if necessary, advanced CT scan, sugar and BP check, ECG, early morning to late night treatment continues by the staff. Reports in the Covid Protocol alone cost about Rs.10,000. Arranging physiotherapy, breathing exercises, laughing therapy, and music to help patients regulate and stabilize their breathing is becoming a major feature.

It is accompanied by constant cleaning and necessary sanitation by the servants. A discharge card is given to the disease-free patient at the time of discharge along with a brief description of the treatment given along with necessary medicines and proper counseling for about 15 days which will be useful as a health card if the patient needs treatment in the future.

Today, Sayaji Hospital and Covid center have two oxygen tanks to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oxygen, which can be delivered to the bed only through a pipeline. Constantly advanced life-saving devices have been provided and finally, the feature of special covid triage has been added. A medical examination center has also been started on the premises.

Thus, the state government has shown its commitment to the protection of public health by setting up a facility equivalent to a state-of-the-art private hospital for the treatment of corona in a government hospital and offering the benefit of almost free treatment.