Assam: GMCH to be Turned into Dedicated Facility for COVID-19 Patients

Guwahati, March 27, 2020:

The Assam Health department has decided to turn the Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) into a dedicated facility for COVID-19 patients.

While addressing the press, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that the State Government said, "To control spread among the Hospital staff and attendants and to prevent confusion, private hospitals are asked under PM Ayushman Bharat scheme and Atal Amrit Scheme to either give their hospitals for rent or take the normal OPD patients so that government hospitals are left for corona treatment. Now almost 100 percent hospitals and clinic have agreed to take the entire load of GMCH."

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He added, "From tomorrow, the Gauhati College will cease to function except cancer, maternity, emergency. There are 700 patients as of now. We will treat and release them gradually."

The Health Minister further informed the GMCH will be shut down within the next 48 hours. As many as 33 nursing homes in Guwahati  have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Assam government to offload the regular patients of GMCH. Patients can directly go to these private hospitals in Guwahati for their treatment.

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It may be mentioned here that the Assam Health department has been planning and preparing to tackle COVID-19 in case of an outbreak in the State. It has also proposed to set up five new prefabricated Hospitals, which will function till five years, for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Dr Sarma informed that the State Government will issue a tender for the proposed prefabricated Hospitals. "These will not last for more than 5 years, so tentatively, we have fixed Dibrugarh and Guwahati and the rest, we are in the process of finalizing. Our plan is to build 5 such Hospitals with 300-bedded capacity each.

Several employees' associations have intimated Dr. Sarma that they would contribute their one day's salaries towards the building of these prefabricated Hospitals. "Per Hospital, the estimated cost will be Rs. 40-45 crore. Some Rajya Sabha MPs who had represented Assam like Bhubaneswar Kalita, Moulana Badaruddin Ajmal, Dhiren Baishya, Abdul Khaleque, Dilip Saikia, have contributed 1 crore or 1.5 crore each. We can make one such Hospital with the contribution of these MPs," said Sarma.

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Additionally, the final year medical students will be undergoing an intensive COVID-19 training program. "In Assam, we have 620 medical students who are studying in the final year MBBS. We have called them tomorrow. For the next seven days, they will get an intensive training. Final year nursing students will also be included and will be allocated in six different units. We are also calling the Dental College and Medical College students who are in their final year. Biochemistry, Anatomy, physiotherapy departments all will be brought in. We’ll start the program from tomorrow," informed the Health Minister.

In Assam's preparation for COVID-19, the older doctors, who have crossed the 60 years-mark will be providing the intensive training to the final year medical students. "Food and lodging of all the trainees will be taken care of by the government. By next 10 days, we are hoping to have a very solid manpower," said Sarma.

The Assam Health Minister further informed that a doctor who would treat COVID-19 patients for seven days, will have to go into 14 days quarantine. "We don’t have any cases as of now. But if it happens, we will fix a hotel for the quarantine of the doctors, nurses and other workers," he observed.

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