Anil Kumar Singhal, Chief Secretary for Health, Medicine and Family Welfare, said that temporary COVID-19 treatment facilities, modeled on COVID care centers, will be set up on the premises of general hospitals with German hangers across the state to increase the availability of beds for patients increase.
At a press conference Thursday, Anil Kumar Singhal said that 200 to 300 beds would be set up in each of these facilities in Guntur, Krishna, Nellore and other hospitals.
He said that mildly ill to moderately severe patients were treated in these facilities and that oxygen was also available.
Mr Singhal said private hospitals would be mandated to allocate vacant beds to the government for treatment under the Aarogyasri program and that orders would be issued soon.
He said that empaneled hospitals were already required to allocate 50% beds to Aarogyasri beneficiaries, and additional free beds in the hospital quota should also be given to the government.
He said there were 16,967 beds in state hospitals, 25,058 beds in staffed private hospitals, and 1,949 beds in 47 COVID-reported hospitals in the state.
The 349 staffed hospitals treated 7,647 patients on Aarogyasri, he said.
Oxygen supply
Mr Singhal said 25 cryotankers, each with a capacity of 20 tons, would be purchased soon for transportation and oxygen supply, and orders would be placed to purchase 10,000 oxygen concentrators.
In addition, oxygen generation plants with a capacity of 76 tons are being developed. Six plants with a capacity of 25 tons were currently in operation.
Mr Singhal said Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to improve oxygen distribution for the state.