Mysuru hospitals ready with more beds for oxygen support

Even as the mounting COVID-19 deaths continue to bother the district authorities, another hospital for the treatment of critically-ill patients is getting ready near the designated COVID-19 hospital here and is expected to admit patients possibly from next month onwards.

The unoccupied building of Trauma Care Centre on KRS Road, which was inaugurated long ago but remained unused for want of equipment, has been taken over and is being converted into the second largest COVID-19 hospital amidst the rise in cases.

As the facility is being designed to cater to the seriously-ill COVID-19 patients, who require oxygen support, an oxygen concentrator plant (which sources oxygen from atmospheric air) is being established on the hospital premises to meet any shortage of liquid oxygen supply once it becomes functional.

The trauma care centre comes under the control of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI), which is currently running the designated COVID-19 hospital, deputing its team of doctors and staff in addition to handling patients, especially the SARI and ILI, at the Jayadeva block on KR Hospital premises.

MMCRI Dean and Director C.P. Nanjaraj told The Hindu the trauma care centre is being equipped with 200 beds for treating COVID-19 patients along with 40 ICU beds. Oxygen pipelines are being drawn to each bed in all wards for the centralised supply.

The designated COVID-19 hospital located on KRS Road has 250 beds and no beds remain vacant there with the report of a large number of cases since June. It is equipped with a 6,000 kl liquid oxygen plant.

MMCRI has proposed to shift the cases from the makeshift unit on the KRH premises to the trauma care facility once the works are completed.

With the rise in demand for beds with centralised oxygen support, pipelines are being drawn and the work is nearing completion. This discontinues use of oxygen cylinders around each bed. Monitoring also becomes easy with central oxygen support with the demand for oxygen going up in state-run hospitals, doctors said.