Beds, oxygen, medicines: How Chhattisgarh dropped Covid ball

In the second Covid-19 wave sweeping the nation, Chhattisgarh is among the many worst-hit states when it comes to each circumstances and deaths, rating solely behind Maharashtra and Delhi on days. However, knowledge present that between the final peak of August 2020 when it was seeing round 4,000 circumstances each day and now, when its each day caseload is 17,000-plus, the state has added simply two Covid hospitals amounting to 722 additional beds.
Documents accessed by The Indian Express additionally present that the precise variety of ventilators within the state is 497, about half the quantity, 937, talked about by the state on a authorities portal. Of these, solely 32 are in devoted Covid hospitals, in opposition to 384 claimed by the federal government, other than 23 in Covid care centres. The whole variety of ICU beds for Covid-19 sufferers in authorities hospitals within the state is barely 477, with 1,881 ICU beds in personal services.

Chhattisgarh at present has greater than 1.3 lakh lively circumstances, with 150-plus deaths being recorded each day for nearly per week now. In the previous 24 hours, the state noticed 16,750 circumstances and 207 deaths.
While the federal government is racing to extend capability, this implies additional oxygen, life-saving medication and educated manpower, that are proving tough to rearrange. For instance, whereas the state has two giant oxygen vegetation, each in Bhilai, there should not sufficient containers to inventory the gasoline. So even because the variety of sufferers on oxygen assist is rising, empty cylinders must be rushed again for refilling.
After the primary wave, Chhattisgarh had deliberate to set-up 9 liquid medical oxygen storage areas together with 23 oxygen vegetation, for which work began in November final yr. Five months later, not one of the 9 storage items is prepared, whereas of the 23 oxygen vegetation that ought to have been accomplished by January 31, solely 15, in districts, had been prepared by early April. The others will probably be prepared solely by the primary week of May, sources stated.

“We have taken cylinders from some district plants. We have also placed orders for more cylinders and are converting industrial oxygen cylinders into medical cylinders,” a Health Department official stated.
On the opposite necessities too, Chhattisgarh is lagging. Said an official, “The tenders for drugs and other paraphernalia were floated only in the second half of March. For remdesivir, we were just finishing our tenders when the demand shot up, so the companies reneged, which led us to tender for it again in April.” According to sources, the final procurement occurred in November 2020, after which officers appointed on particular obligation for Covid-19 had been moved out, basically halting the procurement drive. The then well being secretary, for instance, went on go away from September, and a brand new one was appointed.
The lull additionally noticed the variety of beds obtainable in Covid care centres go down by practically half. From 186 centres with 21,883 beds in August 2020, Chhattisgarh numbers are right down to 101 centres and 11,442 beds. However, whereas in August these centres didn’t have ICUs or ventilators, the centres have 23 ventilators and 46 ICU beds now, other than about 2,000 beds with oxygen provide.

In state capital Raipur, the place all of the 11 Covid care centres are up and operating, these are being besieged by sufferers who can’t get beds elsewhere. The end result being that these centres, meant to deal with gentle and reasonable circumstances — and geared up with solely 592 beds with oxygen, and three ventilators in all — are being compelled to take critical circumstances.Raipur has in all 3,776 beds in personal hospitals, together with 1,583 with oxygen. Government hospitals, together with AIIMS, Raipur, have 1,156 beds and 488 with oxygen. Raipur’s tally of lively circumstances is greater than 18,749.
“Covid care centres can’t replace ICU beds, HDU (high-dependency unit) beds and other facilities of hospitals. What we need are specialists and better institutions,” a physician primarily based out of Raipur stated, asking to not be named.
Sources within the Health Department stated Health Minister T S Singh Deo had written to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel not less than twice between April 2020 and April 2021 looking for funds to extend the ICU mattress capability, however was informed that districts could be growing the capability on their very own.

While Bilaspur, Raipur and Durg, the worst-hit of the state’s 27 districts, received Rs 10 crore every to enhance services, these too are floundering. Durg, Baghel’s dwelling district, for instance, has solely three authorities hospitals with 798 beds, whereas Bilaspur has restricted ventilators. Durg has upwards of 12,000 lively circumstances at present, and Bilaspur 10,000.
Baghel denied the shortage of preparation. Asserting that well being services had been augmented considerably from final yr, the CM informed The Indian Express, “Money is being given freely to all districts and the Health Department and all our departments are working in complete synergy.”
Singh Deo stated the scarcity of ICU beds was hurting probably the most. “A file has already been moved from our office for more ICU beds, let’s hope it is passed.” He additionally lauded personal hospitals for “working together” with the federal government, “unlike last time”.
Under the surge, laboratories are struggling to deal with RT-PCR assessments, with the lag in outcomes as much as 5 days hurting containment efforts. Many circumstances are being traced to hospitals as sufferers anticipate assessments.
The BJP has accused Baghel, who had been dealing with the Congress’s marketing campaign in Assam, of being absent at the same time as Covid surged. A BJP chief, Ajay Chandrakar, stated the tussle between Baghel and Singh Deo, rivals for CM publish, was chargeable for “the lack of direction” within the state’s anti-Covid efforts, a cost repeated by many. Ex-CM Raman Singh has accused a cricket event organised by the federal government in March of including to the infections.
Accusing the BJP of “petty politics”, Baghel stated, “None of them is helping, bas meen mekh nikaal rahe hain (they are just nitpicking)… They are blaming our cricket match when they are the ones organising super-spreader events. Chhattisgarh is much better on all fronts in the war against Covid-19 in comparison to BJP-ruled states.”
The CM stated it was the brand new Covid-19 variants that had been behind the disaster. “Last year, people were getting better faster. The variants are more dangerous, oxygen levels are dropping suddenly in even patients not suffering from comorbidities. Young people are getting ill faster.”