When the country is crippeled by the deadlier second wave of Covid-19 and people are grasping for oxygen and beds, a dedicated Covid-19 hospital in Bihar equipped with oxygen beds remains unused. The hospital administration however said that they don’t have any patients who need treatment.
The hospital in Simri Bakhtiyarpur block of Saharsa district has total 60 beds facility and was dedicated to treat Covid-19 patients last year, when the country was hit by the first wave.
The hospital ran for just few months last year and is closed since then.
The issue was raised by the locals staying near the hospital.
When the health manager of the hospital Mahbub Alam was contacted he said, “Most of the Covid patients do not want to get treated at hospitals and opt for home isolation. Till now, we have not found any patient who needs treatment at the hospital.”
While the Block Development Officer (BDO) of the hospital, Manoj Kumar said that the hospital remained closed due to unavailability of doctors.
“To run this hospital, there should be at least ten doctors, but at present there are only four. We usually refer the Covid positive cases to the district headquarters where there are more doctors and better resources available,” said Kumar.
In resources the hospital had sufficient medicines to treat patients, 60 beds with oxygen facility and was well furnished.
On Thursday Bihar recorded over 15,000 new cases with death toll crossing 3,000 taking the state’s active caseload to 1.15 lakh.
