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Karnataka govt to spend Rs 1500 crore to upgrade 149 taluk, 19 district hospitals anticipating 3rd COVID wave

Addressing a press conference after convening a meeting of the task force on Monday, Narayana, informed that the state intends to update the hospitals within a maximum timeline of three months.

Karnataka govt to spend Rs 1500 crore to upgrade 149 taluk, 19 district hospitals anticipating 3rd COVID wave-dnm
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Bengaluru, First Published Jun 8, 2021, 10:11 AM IST

Bengaluru: Karnataka Covid task force which met on Monday announced that they have sanctioned Rs 1,500 crores for upgradation of taluk and district hospitals in the state. The state government plans to implement it in three months' time to meet the challenges of the third Covid wave.

Karnataka's Covid task force has approved to upgrade 149 taluk hospitals and 19 district hospitals in the state, excluding the ones under Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), at a budget of 1500 crores to prepare for the possible third wave of the pandemic, Deputy CM and State Covid task force head, Dr CN Ashwatha Narayana, stated on Monday.

Addressing a press conference after convening a meeting of the task force on Monday, Narayana, informed that the state intends to update the hospitals within a maximum timeline of three months. Task Force Sub Committee member CC Patil and minister Dr Sudhakar were also present at the meeting.

“Our objective is to equip the state to face any type of medical challenges in the near future and not necessarily the Covid pandemic. We have decided to spruce up infrastructure from the taluk level by upgrading hospitals with advanced life support system that can stabilise patients during any emergency,” Dr Ashwath Narayana said.

The DyCM said, “the action plan involves overhauling of the existing facilities. Every taluk hospital will have a 100-bed facility, including 25-bed ICU ventilator facility, 25-bed HDU and 50-oxygenated beds. Besides remote ICU facilities, all kinds of diagnostic facilities will be provided at these hospitals. We will also be working on a war-footing to recruit skilled manpower for these facilities.”

As per the National Skill Commission’s decision, six skills have been listed under the Covid-19 management support program. In Karnataka, 5000 members who have passed the 10th and 12th will be trained under this program. They will be given training for three months and a stipend of Rs 5000 per month. Due to the huge demand of these verticals, they will work in 108 ambulance services, basic life-supporting, hospitals, and as nurse assistants, Narayana said.

“We need to appoint three nurses for each doctor and three group ‘D’ workers. The overall set-up will cost us Rs 1,500 crore, out of which Rs 600 crore will be spent as annual salaries to these employees,” Dr Ashwath Narayana said.

“No patient shall come out of the taluk for any treatment and about 97% of the treatment must be available within the district. The government’s view is that there shall not be any discrepancies in maintenance and quality of services offered at the government hospital. The technical advisory committee involving experts from Boston Consulting Group will provide us technical assistance free of cost as part of their CSR initiative,” he said.

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