Govt. multispeciality hospital in Chennai to house facility

The Omandurar Government Multispeciality Hospital on Mount Road is being converted into a special facility with 350 beds, to treat COVID-19 patients, Tamil Nadu Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said.

The other operations of the hospital would be wound down and it will be dedicated towards the treatment of patients who test positive for SARS-CoV-2.

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“Since it is a new hospital and has a lot of space, we decided to commandeer it for this specific purpose. With other hospitals, there is a restriction of sorts in shifting out in patients already receiving treatment for other conditions. We do not want to inconvenience them, which is why we looked at the Omandurar hospital,” Dr. Vijayabaskar explained. New beds and ventilators will be procured for this specific purpose, he added.

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The Minister also said provision would be made under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme to compensate the private hospitals for the expenses incurred on poor patients who may not be able to afford the fees of ₹1500 (if negative) or ₹4,500 (if positive) for testing for the infection. Meetings have also been scheduled with other heads of private hospitals and medical college hospitals in the State to explore the involvement of the private sector in treatment, testing and containment efforts of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

With this, the Minister said, the State has 10,000 beds in the government sector, and in the coming days, bed capacity would be scaled up to 750-1500 in the private sector too. “It is likely to be among the highest in the country.”

Dr. Vijayabaskar also added that a task force comprising of 10 senior doctors has been formed to study treatment protocols across the world, and monitor the changes being made. They will suggest changes to the treatment protocols in the State as well, as and when necessary.

They will suggest changes to the treatment protocols in the State as necessary, he added.

In addition to the new facility at the Omandurar Hospital, after discussions with the management of Apollo Hospitals, and Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, the Health Department managed to secure a commitment of 100 beds (Apollo) and 250 beds (CMC) to treat COVID-19 patients.

Payment for testing

The Minister also said provision would be made under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme to compensate the private hospitals for the expenses incurred on poor patients who may not be able to afford the fees of ₹1500 (if negative) or ₹4,500 (if positive) for testing for the infection. Meetings have also been scheduled with other heads of private hospitals and medical college hospitals in the State to explore the involvement of the private sector in treatment, testing and containment efforts of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

With this, the Minister said, the State has 10,000 beds in the government sector, and in the coming days, bed capacity would be scaled up to 750-1500 in the private sector too. “It is likely to be among the highest in the country.”

Dr. Vijayabaskar also added that a task force comprising of 10 senior doctors has been formed to study treatment protocols across the world, and monitor the changes being made. They will suggest changes to the treatment protocols in the State as well, as and when necessary.