Kathmandu, Oct 13: With the rapid rise in the COVID-19 cases in the Kathmandu Valley, more patients are in need of ICU facilities and ventilator services.
Owing to the increasing need of these facilities, the government Monday decided to convert all the government hospitals of the Kathmandu Valley into COVID-19 designated hospitals.
According to Dr. Jageshwar Gautam, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), the government has taken the decision because of the lack of required isolation centers and ICU beds for the COVID-19 patients in the valley.
The ministry has decided to utilise and manage the ventilators, ICU and oxygen available at the department of health for the ICU department for the COVID-19 patients.
Deputy spokesperson at the MoHP, Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikary informed that all hospitals, which were already treating the COVID-19 patients and others, including Kanti Children hospital, Gangalal National Heart Disease Centre, Civil Hospital and Eye hospitals, have to provide treatment to the COVID-19 patients.
“Now these government hospitals should treat the COVID-19 patients,” said Dr. Adhikary.
The government has also decided to establish Manmohan Memorial Medical College and Teaching hospital of Dahachowk and Ayurved Research and Training Centre, Kritipur, as a COVID-19 hospital for providing treatment to the patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
The MoHP has also directed all the hospitals of the Kathmandu Valley to conduct surgery only in the case of emergency. “This will help in managing isolation facilities, ICU beds and ventilators for the growing number of COVID-19 patients,” said Dr. Gautam.
Earlier, the government had decided to build more isolation centres in the Kathmandu Valley, but later it withdrew the decision. Now when the cases of the COVID-19 surged unexpectedly in the valley, the government was compelled to convert all hospitals, including the Kanti Children Hospital, into COVID-19 designated hospitals.
The decision could be a big help for the virus patients, but the people with other ailments are likely to be deprived of health facilities, said a doctor on condition of anonymity.
– The Rising Nepal
