Rohtas residents rue poor health infra, staff in hosps

SASARAM: The Covid-19 situation continues to deteriorate in Rohtas district, which has reported 67 deaths in the last 20 days, civil surgeon Dr Sudhir Kumar told this newspaper on Tuesday. The three private hospitals recently declared as dedicated Covid care facilities by the district administration are yet to become functional despite more than 2,700 people having tested positive for the virus this month so far.
The civil surgeon also admitted that all 10 the ventilators in Sasaram Sadar hospital are non-functional owing to lack of trained paramedical and medical staff.
Sources said more than 60% of the medical and paramedical staff at Sasaram Sadar hospital have tested positive and are under home quarantine for the last 10 days.
Residents rue that despite the grim situation, no concrete steps are being taken to increase the number of beds in hospitals and improve the overall healthcare infrastructure in the district.
A trader at Sasaram said the State Health Society has named a few non-functional private hospitals for treatment of Covid patients. People are getting harassed after running to such hospitals.
The additional chief medical officer (ACMO) at Sasaram Sadar hospital, Dr K N Tiwary, told this newspaper that due to protest by the local residents, a few nursing homes could not be made functional for Covid patents.
Meanwhile, after reports of shortage of essential drugs, the civil surgeon on Monday held a meeting with local chemists and requested them to cooperate with the administration in the fight against the pandemic.
“After the surge in Covid-19 cases, the administration is trying its best to increase the number of oxygen cylinders in government hospitals,” he said.