Karnataka govt draws up action plan, to use medicos to combat virus
Bengaluru, May 1: With four lakh active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, the State government on Saturday drew a detailed action plan to combat the pandemic.
The action plan includes roping in final year medical and nursing students.
The government decided to use the students in the final year of Nursing, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Ayush doctors, dentists and hospital management for COVID-19 duty.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa with the head of top private medical hospitals.
Later, the Chief Minister posted a series of tweets on his Twitter handle.
"Held detailed discussion with management of private hospitals to expand availability of beds and optimise the existing resources. Oxygen beds will be set up at stepdown hospitals using portable oxygen concentrators and centralised oxygen beds will be converted into ICU beds," Yediyurappa tweeted.
His office issued a statement detailing the measures taken by the government.
"To overcome the shortage of 'medical human resource', the government has decided to rope in final year medical and nursing students for the COVID duty and give them grace marks. Their final year exam will be postponed and they will be given incentives," a statement read.
Further, it was decided to enrol doctors with the Karnataka Medical Council who have completed their courses in foreign countries, and put them on COVID duty.
The government doctors with less workload would be identified and assigned for COVID duty, the statement read.
It has also been decided to convert hotels as step-down hospitals with oxygenated beds and convert the existing oxygenated beds into ICU beds.
Converting medical college hostels into oxygenated beds and giving financial aid to the private medical colleges to set up oxygen generation plants were part of the action plan.
Patients would be triaged to minimise the number of patients in the hospitals and those who are asymptomatic would be asked to isolate at home where they would be given telemedicine.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi had advised to the Chief Ministers in his recent video conference, there would be an audit of oxygen and Remdesivir injection to prevent their misuse.
The government also decided to gear up for the third wave of COVID-19 by forming a panel of experts and speed up the vaccination drive.
"An expert group will be constituted to advise the government on prevention and mitigation of possible third and future waves of infection. The pandemic is an unprecedented challenge to humanity and we have to defeat it together with confidence, compassion and collaboration," Yediyurappa tweeted.
These measures were taken as the State has started logging around 40,000 to 48,000 cases daily with Bengaluru seeing over 50 per cent of the daily caseloads and fatalities.
Already, the government has appointed a senior IPS officer to arrange 4,000 ICU beds in the city with 500 beds in each of the eight municipal zones.
Held detailed discussion with managements of private hospitals to expand availability of beds and optimize existing resources. Oxygen beds will be set up at step down hospitals using portable oxygen concentrators and centralized oxygen beds will be converted into ICU beds. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/jDJdferqH2
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) May 1, 2021
Triaging and tele-medicine will be strengthened to ensure judicious and optimal utilisation of oxygenated and ICU beds. To augment human resource and reduce burden on healthcare staff, final year medical & paramedical students will be roped in for Covid-19 related work. 2/4
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) May 1, 2021
Will provide financial support to private medical colleges to set up oxygen generation plants. Audit system will be put in place to check indiscriminate use of oxygen and Remdesivir . Strict action will be taken against black marketing and hoarding of essential drugs. 3/4
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) May 1, 2021
An expert group will be constituted to advise government on prevention and mitigation of possible third and future waves of infection. The pandemic is an unprecedented challenge to humanity and we have to defeat it together with confidence, compassion and collaboration. 4/4
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) May 1, 2021
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AI-based monitoring strengthens PPP dialysis programme in Karnataka: Health Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): The introduction of an AI-enabled monitoring system will significantly enhance patient safety and treatment quality under Karnataka's public-private partnership dialysis programme, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Thursday.
Launching the AI-based smart monitoring system at KC General Hospital in Bengaluru, the minister said such technological innovations bring dialysis services delivered under the PPP model on par with private healthcare standards.
"The introduction of an AI-enabled monitoring system will significantly strengthen patient safety and treatment quality under Karnataka's PPP dialysis programme," he said.
The system, introduced by dialysis care provider NephroPlus, enables real-time monitoring of critical treatment parameters such as blood pressure, fluid removal and electrolyte balance during dialysis, aiming to improve patient outcomes through continuous oversight, a statement said.
Currently deployed across seven dialysis centres, the platform tracks 28 key parameters, including patient care, safety, bed availability, staff alertness, emergency preparedness, infection control, hygiene and operational efficiency, NephroPlus said in a statement.
It allows administrators and clinical teams to take data-driven decisions through continuous performance monitoring, it added.
Officials said the technology replaces periodic audits with always-on monitoring, offering a more transparent and robust governance framework.
NephroPlus CEO Rohit Singh said continuous monitoring is critical in dialysis care and the AI-based system ensures consistent quality standards across centres while enabling safer and more reliable treatment for patients.
The launch event also featured a live demonstration of AI-powered dashboards, showcasing real-time tracking of dialysis procedures.
