West Bengal: Foreign aid to set up Covid field hospitals in Birbhum, Purulia

KOLKATA: The cresting second wave of Covid-19 has underlined the need to revamp healthcare infrastructure in rural Bengal and prompted two nonprofits — Liver Foundation West Bengal (LFWB) and Covid Care Network (CCN) — to set up field hospitals with donations from foreign institutes like John Hopkins University, US.
Two such facilities are in the pipeline at Birbhum’s Nagari and Labhpur while two more are coming up in Purulia. Birbhum currently has 4,670 active Covid cases with 877 fresh ones being reported on Friday. Purula reported 296 fresh cases, taking its total to 3,112.
While the numbers are far less compared to Kolkata and North 24 Parganas, what is alarming is the fact that these districts had reported daily cases in only double digits during the first wave. Experts also pointed to fewer tests in the rural belt, insinuating that the actual number of cases might be higher than on official record.
“Villages are in the grip of this second Covid wave, but people are reaching district hospitals late. Infections become severe by then, reducing chances of effective treatment. The field hospitals are meant to administer initial care to Covid patients in villages,” said Dr Abhjit Chowdhury, a mentor to CCN who is also associated with LFWB.
Each field hospital is expected to have 25 beds, oxygen support and telemedicine facilities. A designated team of doctors and nurses, along with informal healthcare providers who have attended government training, will run the show. Patients diagnosed with severe infection and in need for better care will be referred to district hospitals.
“The upcoming projects are being funded by donations from institutes and organisations like John Hopkins University and Heal India. As more donations pour in, we will set up field hospitals in other districts too. This is a war-like situation and we cannot leave villagers to fend for themselves against the pandemic,” Dr Chowdhury added.