As patient load eases, ICU beds available

Noida: Oxygen and ICU beds are available at Covid facilities in Noida and Greater Noida after almost a month. By Wednesday night, 115 beds with dedicated oxygen supply and five ICU beds were vacant in Gautam Budh Nagar district.
However, according to officials, the demand for ventilators is still high.
While 600-800 Covid beds have been vacant for the past 10 days, the rush of patients seeking oxygen support and intensive care remained constant.
For almost a month, Covid facilities in the district have been fully packed and many patients had to be turned away. Although additional beds were readied at many facilities, they got occupied almost immediately. Currently, the district has 3,814 Covid beds of which 2,742 are oxygen and ICU beds.
From Thursday, the district administration will put in place a new system that has to be followed by the 24 hospitals treating Covid patients.
The staff at the facilities will have to provide a health bulletin to patients’ kin over phone at least once daily.A record of calls and names of the patients covered will have to be maintained on a daily basis and the list will be furnished to the administration periodically.
District magistrate Suhas LY said that a team of officials will conduct random checks to verify if the calls recorded were actually made. “Now that the rush is little less, hospital staff can update families about patients’ health on a regular basis,” he added.
The initiative under which refilled oxygen cylinders are being provided to patients in home isolation has brought relief to many Covid patients and their families. “Since oxygen has been made available by both Noida Authority and Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, the burden on the healthcare system has also come down. With many people getting oxygen support at home, we are in a better position to manage critical patients. About 15 days ago, the situation was completely different,” said the nodal officer for Covid management in Gautam Budh Nagar, Narendra Bhooshan.