Odisha Govt Allows Treatment Of COVID-19 Patients At Private Hospitals

Bhubaneswar: In a significant decision, the state government on Friday allowed the private hospitals to treat COVID-19 positive patients on certain conditions.

In an official notification, the Health and Family Welfare department said in view of COVID-19 pandemic, the government has created Dedicated COVD Care Centres, Dedicated COVID Health Centres and Dedicated COVID Hospitals to provide services to the patients.

However, it is observed that when the private hospitals treating the non-COVID cases find such patients to be COVID-19 positive, they immediately request the Government machinery to shift the case to a COVID facility set up by the Government. It eventually causes a large surge of patients in such COVID facilities, the notification stated.

After consideration of the situation, the department said the following guidelines have been set for the private hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 patients:

• Interested private hospitals shall designate a minimum of 10% of all beds to be reserved for the COVID patients with an option to convert the entire hospital as a COVID hospital. However, they have to register themselves before starting COVID treatment on the following link: https://covid19regd.odisha.gov.in/ccc/cccregistration.aspx.
• Such reserved beds must include appropriate numbers of ICU beds with ventilators dedicated for COVID patients. (At the rate of 10% of all available beds).
• There must be a separate fever clinic and facility for isolation of suspected cases. When the suspected cases come out to be positive they shall be shifted to the COVID beds provided the patient wants to take the services of the hospital on payment of fees.
• Only those patients who want to pay on their own or are covered under their own insurance shall be treated in the hospital. No reimbursement or payment of any kind towards the treatment of such patients will be made by the government.
• Adequate number of the consumables like Oxygen, PPEs, sanitizers, etc must be available.
• The staff managing the COVID patients shall take utmost care and prevention so that they themselves do not contract the disease. They shall work for 14 days and shall go for quarantine for another 14 days after which they can again come back to patient duty.
• All the tests must be done at the approved rate notified by the Government.
• Newer drugs shall be rationally and judiciously prescribed and used.
• Hospital shall charge reasonable fees from a patient and refrain from collecting exorbitant fees, failing which strict action will be taken against the hospital.
• The discharge policy of the state shall be strictly followed. The patients or the dead body shall not be detained for non-payment of fees.
• The institution shall develop mechanism for collection of bill amount on a day to day basis so that a lump sum amount never remains pending.
• Dead body disposal shall be done strictly as per the Government India/State Government guidelines.
• The hospital shall provide the COVID-19 test result to the patient.
• The hospital shall allow one willing attendant of the patient to remain in the earmarked place in the hospital premise while ensuring prevention of cross-infection.
• The hospital shall create a help desk accessible physically and telephonically for counselling to relatives of patients and share information on status of health to attendants of the patient regularly.

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