Mumbai: BMC teams to conduct home check-ups for bed allotment

BMC workers add beds to the general ward of the NESCO Jumbo COVID centre in Goregaon on Friday. Pic/Satej Shinde

In order to streamline the bed allotment process for COVID-19 patients and make it hassle-free for them, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to send teams to people's homes from April 25 to check symptoms and decide on the kind of beds required.

The move comes in view of the increasing number of calls ward war rooms have been receiving for beds. Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has instructed the officials concerned to keep 10 ambulances ready for the equal number of teams in each of the 24 wards.

Currently, there are three types of beds available for COVID-19 patients - a normal bed, an oxygen bed and an intensive care unit one.

As patients are finding it extremely difficult to get beds due to the increasing number of cases, Chahal held a special meeting on Friday to streamline the bed allotment process. All health department and ward officials were present in the meeting.

The civic chief has directed the officials to make arrangements for at least 10 inspection teams for each ward and separate ambulances for each of them to carry out medical check-ups through home visits. The decision will be implemented from Sunday. "After the medical examination, it will be easier to allot a bed according to the needs of a patient," said a civic official.

Medical examination of patients through home visits will be done between 7 am and 11 pm. If there is an urgent need for a medical check-up between 11 pm and 7 am, the same will be done at the jumbo COVID centres. However, all the necessary coordination in this regard will be done through the ward war rooms.

In exceptional cases, if the patient does not get the type of bed that the medical team has recommended, the patient will be placed on the waiting list and the bed will be allotted when it is available.