This story is from September 24, 2021

Karnataka: 20% beds in govt hospitals reserved for children: Health minister K Sudhakar

Karnataka: 20% beds in govt hospitals reserved for children: Health minister K Sudhakar
Health minister K Sudhakar inspects a hospital in Mysuru. (File photo)
BENGALURU: Health minister K Sudhakar on Thursday said the government has reserved 20% of beds in district and taluk hospitals and community health centres for children ahead of a possible third wave of Covid-19 infections. The move comes in the wave of health experts warning that the next wave could hit children (those below 18 years) hard.
Replying to a question in the legislative assembly, Sudhakar said the government has made elaborate arrangements by augmenting medical equipment and human resources to tackle a third wave.
Over 25,870 oxygenated beds and 502 paediatric ventilators have been kept ready. “Besides this, 285 paediatricians, 1,250 doctors and 1,202 nurses have been trained to effectively tackle a third wave. We will also appoint 85 more paediatricians soon,” Sudhakar said. He said the state has placed orders for more medical equipment which will arrive over the next two or three weeks.
Dialysis centres in limbo
Sudhakar said issues pertaining to dialysis centres in government hospitals managed by the BR Shetty foundation will be resolved within a month.
The foundation has been running 57 dialysis centres in government hospitals across the state on a PPP model. But after BR Shetty went bankrupt, financial issues cropped up affecting the functioning of these centres and patients have been affected, the minister said.
Many MLAs had raised the issue in assembly and demanded that the government address it on priority. Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri said it was a noble scheme implemented to help poor patients and urged the government to ensure they run efficiently. Some members claimed staff at these centres have not been paid for the past six months.
Sudhakar said the government is aware of these problems and is making alternative arrangements. “The company has said it was not in a position to run these centres,” he said. On the issue of unpaid salaries to staff, the minister said the government has transferred salaries of the staff till August to the foundation as per the agreement, but the company has not paid it out to staff. “We are making arrangements to pay salaries directly,” he said.
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