Shillong: Meghalaya health minister AL Hek visited the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) hospital to review the state’s preparedness in its fight against the global pandemic.
Director of NEIGRIHMS P Bhattacharya apprised the health minister of the institute’s lack of manpower and also the difficulty in increase beds with Oxygen since they would fall short on manpower.
When Hek inquired about the manpower crunch, Bhattacharya clarified that he does not have the required authority to recruit more than what has been sanctioned by the central government. The institute needed a bigger budget to increase the manpower to tackle the COVID-19 situation, Bhattacharya added.
At present, there are 100 oxygen beds, 30 beds for COVID-19 related cases and an additional 25 COVID-19 ICU beds.
Bhattacharya added that they are all working as a team. NEIGRIHMS has also called in interns and MBBS students to volunteer at the hospital. They have also been trained to deal with COVID-19 cases.
The health minister expressed satisfaction in seeing the hospital’s preparedness to deal with the situation.
Hek said, “The state government is ready to support and co-operate with NEIGRIHMS hospital if they need any help. We have also asked the hospital to ensure to cater to all patients.”
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