State Health Minister and Jamshedpur West MLA Banna Gupta on Monday said that Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will give nod for starting testing facility for coronavirus at Dhanbad and near Itki TB Sanatorium in Ranchi in a day or two.
Gupta was interacting with media after inspecting the 10-bed isolation facility at state-owned MGM Hospital in Sakchi.
“The situation is better in our State. We have already started testing of throat and nasal swab for novel coronavirus at MGM Medical College in Jamshedpur and RIMS in Ranchi and we are expecting nod of the ICMR in a day or two for PMCH in Dhanbad and at Itki near Ranchi and hope to start testing samples this week. This would give us a capacity to increase manifold our testing capacity not only for Covid-19 but also for other viruses in future,” said Gupta.
It may be mentioned here that as of now MGM Medical College testing unit can test a maximum of 40 samples daily while RIMS in Ranchi can accommodate 90 in a day.
Gupta along with MGM Hospital senior officials during the inspection of the isolation facility admitted about the need for more ventilators and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
“We have already placed our requisition with the Central government for 300 ventilators and large numbers of personal protective equipment. But so far we have not received any consignment from Union health ministry,” said Gupta.
The Minister also inaugurated a liquid oxygen plant facility having a capacity of 13,000 liter in association with Praxair India at an estimated cost of Rs 5-crore on MGM hospital premises.
The government hospital has tied up with Praxair India for installation of a liquid oxygen plant. The project entailed an investment of Rs 5 crore which was provided by the state health department.
Liquid oxygen is used to treat respiratory disorders and has been found to be more effective than oxygen concentrators or oxygen cylinders. “Liquid oxygen offers several key advantages over other methods of oxygen delivery," he said.
Notably, the 560-bed MGM Medical College Hospital became the second government hospital after Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences ( RIMS), Ranchi to have the facility of piped oxygen supply.
MGM Medical College and Hospital is a government hospital with the facility of 540 beds. Everyday around 1000 patients come here for treatment. It may be mentioned that State Government governed Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital, is an Indian medical school established in 1964. It is situated in the outskirts of Jamshedpur near Dimna. The college's hospital is located in Sakchi.
