Bengaluru still has no real-time database of number of beds available for COVID-19

Such a system was proposed to be set up around a week ago, but there is still no real-time information about the number of beds available in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru still has no real-time database of number of beds available for COVID-19

Days after the administration in Bengaluru had promised to make data on the number of beds, a system is yet to be made public. This even as the Karnataka High Court asked the state government to make public the data of COVID-19 beds within Bengaluru, along with details of oxygen and the ventilator beds available.

Speaking to TNM, Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, who is in charge of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike COVID-19 War Room, said it would take some more time before the website can go live for the public.

“We have readied the website partially. We are using it for our necessary internal monitoring in the zonal level and for coordination purposes. This website went live 3-4 days ago and now every hour, we are identifying improvements that have to be made and we are upgrading accordingly. We are doing necessary tweakings to make it suit our needs,” Hephsiba told TNM.

“Right now, we are working on it to make it open to the public. Over the last few days, considerable progress has been made. It is to be decided how and when and how the public can be given access to the system will be looked at,” she added. 

Randeep D,  Special BBMP Commissioner, and part of the team working on this website said it will take at least a day’s time to integrate their system with the system put in place for patients availing government subsidy.

“We are waiting for integration with SAST (Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust) portal which will take one more day's time,” Randeep told TNM.

It may be recalled that the Karnataka High Court bench led by Chief Justice AS Oka on July 6 had taken suo motu cognisance of the hardships faced by patients over the lack of availability of beds.

Speaking earlier with TNM, Dr Giridhar Babu, an epidemiologist working with the Public Health Foundation of India, expressed his disappointment over the extent of technology usage in real-time bed allocation for COVID-19 patients.

“A realistic mapping of beds with a real-time allocation should be aided by technology. When we need the apps most, they are not there,” he told TNM.

With the crisis surrounding lack of adequate medical infrastructure with the rise in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru, it was announced that capacity of 180 beds will be added as a BBMP building will be transformed into a hospital.

"Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) building on the broadway road in Shivajinagar is being developed as a full-fledged COVID hospital," said Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar.

The minister inspected the facility on Wednesday for which Infosys Foundation is providing the necessary infrastructure at a cost of Rs 30 crore.

"The hospital will be functional in another 10 days," said Sudhakar.

Initially, 180 beds with high flow oxygen lines will be available in the hospital, which can also be converted into ventilator facilities when needed. Equipped with 30 ventilators, the new hospital will have neurosurgery and cardiology operation theatres and CT scan facilities.

Later, Sudhakar also visited Bowring and Lady Curzon hospitals to inspect the facilities and interacted with patients through videoconferencing.

(With IANS inputs)

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