In the wake of the second wave of COVID-19, 20 private hospitals in Hubballi and Dharwad have come forward to voluntarily reserve 50% of beds for such patients.
Chairing a District Health Task Force meeting in Dharwad on Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil appreciated the decision of the private hospitals for extending a helping hand voluntarily in a time of crisis and said that the move would ease the pressure on the district administration in tackling the second wave of the pandemic.
Mr. Patil said that the district administration had made elaborate arrangements for COVID-19 patients, including beds, ventilators and liquid oxygen, in government hospitals. However, as patients with aggravated conditions from other districts too were coming to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Hubballi, the load was heavy.
He said that apart from KIMS and Civil Hospital in Dharwad, 50 beds each had been reserved for COVID-19 patients in the taluk hospitals of Navalgund, Kundgol and Kalghatgi in the district.
Mr. Patil said that the State government had already issued notification capping the treatment charge for the pandemic. It will be ₹5,200 for general bed, ₹7,000 for HDU (high dependency unit), ₹8,500 for isolation ward without oxygen and ₹10,000 for isolation ward with oxygen supply.
Mr. Patil said that there would be a fee for those getting admitted to private hospitals after getting referral from doctors at KIMS and Civil Hospital. And, if any patient went directly to private hospitals seeking treatment, he would be charged ₹10,000 for general ward bed, ₹12,000 for HDU, ₹15,000 and ₹25,000 for isolation ward without oxygen and with oxygen supply, respectively, he said.
