With cases of Covid-19 infection skyrocketing in Jharkhand and Government hospitals running out of dedicated beds, the State may soon start using train coaches at Hatia Railway Station for treating patients with mild to moderate symptoms, health officials said on Monday.
Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said that special Railway coaches at Hatia were available for use and the Government can start treating Covid patients in those coaches whenever there is a need for it.
“The coaches have been made available to us, and we can start using them,” said Kulkarni. “However, only patients with mild to moderate symptoms would be treated in these railway coaches,” he added.
Special railway coaches, which were converted to isolation units in Ranchi, can accommodate at least 480 patients, officials from Ranchi Railway Division said. “We have been having talks with the Government about the use of these coaches. These special coaches are likely to be used for treating Covid patients soon,” said Neeraj Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer of Ranchi Division.
The Centre in March had decided to convert railway coaches into isolation units where Covid-19 patients could be treated. More than 5000 such coaches, including at least 500 in New Delhi, were prepared to fight the global pandemic across India, officials said.
As per figures with the Railways, each coach can accommodate 16 patients. Most of these coaches are non-AC coaches as it was believed that an air-conditioned environment may aid the spread of the virus.
The count of active Covid-19 cases surpassed the number of dedicated beds in Ranchi last week. However, prompt actions by the government ensured at least 300 more beds in buildings that were converted to Covid-19 care centres here. Ranchi, however, stares at a possible crisis of beds as it continues to top among Jharkhand districts in terms of fresh cases reported every day, health officials said.
As per government data, there were nearly 500 active Covid-19 cases in Ranchi at the time of filing of this report on Monday. At least 727 cases of Covid-19 infection have been reported in the State capital so far and 243 of these patients have recovered.
There are only 100 dedicated Covid beds at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), the premier State-run hospital here.
Besides, there are around 21 Covid beds in Medica Superspecialty Hospital. The four Covid care centres in Ranchi can accommodate over 300 patients, officials said.
The railway isolation coaches may come as relief for patients from humble backgrounds as the bare minimum cost of Covid treatment in a private hospital here is Rs.15,000 per day, doctors said.
Sources from the health department said that patients with severe symptoms, and the ones on ventilator, will only be treated at dedicated Covid Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in hospitals.