Special team at SMCH for inspection; Himanta Biswa Sarma likely to visit soon to inaugurate new ICU

In a video conference with the principal, vice-principal and other senior officials of Silchar Medical College and Hospital, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 100 more ICU beds must be arranged as soon as possible. Accordingly, retired chief engineer of PWD, Jyotish Sharma, and the team of contractors have visited for a feasibility study.

Dr. Babul Bezbaruah, principal cum chief superintendent of Silchar Medical College and Hospital said that 40 ICU beds will be added very soon as the Civil work is already complete. The team will now connect it with Oxygen and after sanitisation, it will be available for use and will be dedicated to COVID. Another site has been identified for a 60-bed ICU which the technical team will survey and finalise. As and when the 60 ICU beds get added, the SMCH will have a strength of 229 ICU beds up from 29 in September 2020.

The deputy commissioner of Cachar, Keerthi Jalli is facilitating the work of connecting 120 beds with oxygen. 34 beds in the Opthalmology ward are ready and already in use. 84 more beds will get added very soon. This work is being done by a local contractor and is funded by district administration. Currently, there are 162 patients on oxygen support and therefore, once the beds get connected with the oxygen plant, the dependence on cylinders will reduce.

The State government has also approved the proposal of converting 200 beds to oxygen-connected beds. Funded by the state government, the will be done under by a contractor appointed by the State. The plan is to convert, 120 beds in Medicine ward to oxygen beds, 70 in Pediatrics, and 10 in the Cardiology department. The wards will be connected with oxygen pipes and the bed will source oxygen from the nosels next to it. The oxygen will be supplied by the plant which is connected to the Oxygen generators.

As more beds get connected to Oxygen, the demand will increase manifold. To meet the demand, one more oxygen generation plant is being built at SMCH. A plant is already operational and it runs 20 hours a day producing 1.4 metric tons of oxygen per day. Then there are two LMO tanks each with a capacity of 20 KL. Dr. Bezbaruah informed that one more LMO tank and Oxygen generation plant has already been sanctioned and the work is in progress. However, it will take time as the raw materials need to be shipped from abroad. SMCH also has 220 jumbo cylinders and oxygen is also supplied by the state via road. Dr. Bezbaruah says, at this stage, there is no scarcity of Oxygen at SMCH.

It is likely that the chief minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma will visit SMCH soon. Principal Bezbaruah said CM might inaugurate the new Intensive Care Unit. The technical team visiting the hospital has also checked the new ventilators shipped by the ‘PM Cares’ fund.

While SMCH is getting upgraded, it is also true that the human resources are getting exhausted. As the number of deaths per day rise, the mental health of the doctors is taking a toll. Also, the patients continue to visit the hospital in the eleventh hour making it difficult for the medical staff to cure them. Adding to the wound is the condition of Civil Hospitals in Karimganj and Hailakandi where they do not have any facility to cure symptomatic patients. Ventilators sent by the PM Cares last year in August are still kept unused inside a room.

So, when the doctors feel fatigued or exhausted it is not because they are running out of gas, but the fact is they have been handed over a fatigued infrastructure that the pandemic exposed. The good part is that it is adding some resources which will help in the long run. Engineer Jyotish Sharma who will soon be the OSD to CM and Dr. Babul Bezbaruah are of the view that even if a third wave hits and children get infected, Silchar Medical College and Hospital will be much better prepared to tackle.