Odisha allows private hospitals with 30 or more beds to open COVID-19 units

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], Aug 8 : The Odisha Government has allowed private hospitals having 30 or more beds to open COVID-19 units.
The government, however, cautioned these hospitals not to collect exorbitant fees and warned of strict action in case of any violation.

Issuing a host of guidelines, the state health department said: "It is observed that the private hospitals are treating the non-COVID cases, but when they find such patients to be Covid-19 positive during the process of treatment they immediately request the government machinery to shift the case to a COVID facility, set up by the government. It eventually caused a large surge of patients in such COVID facilities."
All asymptomatic or mild cases shall be sent to institutional quarantine or home isolation, or a paid COVID Care Centre run by the hospital, it said.
Interested private hospitals shall designate a minimum of 10 per cent of all beds to be reserved for COVID treatment with an option to convert the entire hospital to a COVID hospital, it added.
"Such reserved beds must include appropriate numbers of ICU beds with ventilators dedicated to COVID patients," the guidelines stated.
Moreover, the hospital shall charge "reasonable fees from patients" and "refrain" from collecting exorbitant fees, failing which strict action will be taken against the hospital.
Stating that the patients or the dead body shall not be detained over non-payment of fees, the government said that the institution shall develop mechanism for collection of bill amount on a day to day basis so that a lump sum amount never remains pending.
"Dead body disposal shall be done strictly as per the government guidelines. All patients' data shall be uploaded in the designated portal or social media group in the appropriate format. All guidelines related to COVID- 19 shall be followed scrupulously," the health department said.