Drills were conducted in hospitals and medical colleges across north Bengal today to assess the preparedness for treating Covid19 patients. The mock exercise followed an advisory issued by the Union health ministry.

A fresh spike in cases in some states has prompted the government to ask for the exercise.

Health department sources said nine super specialty hospitals, district hospitals and medical colleges in north Bengal reviewed the infrastructure today.

According to the officer on special duty for public health in north Bengal Dr Susanta Kumar Roy, the exercise had helped check the operational readiness and plug gaps if any to strengthen healthcare facilities in the region.

Biomedical engineers, technical staff, nursing staff, and assistant superintendents examined the 110-bed Covidblocks-1 at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital(NBMCH), the premier health institute and referral centre in the region. In a separate arrangement, 30 beds of the paediatric intensive care unit are functional there.

NBMCH authorities had dis banded the unit and Covid patients had been admitted in the block till early February last year. Many instruments and beds are gathering dust in lack of use and cleaning, while some beds were not in proper place, sources said.

The NBMCH authorities, however, claimed that all the equipment had been taken good care of.

In the block, there were 18beds for critical care and high dependency.

“All 110 beds are oxygen supported of which 18 beds have ventilators,” the sources said. NBMCH sources said the total bed strength of the Covid facilities were 241, including in the Covid block-2.

“The facilities have enough arrangements and are well prepared to handle any crisis like situation,” Dr Roy said.

According to NBMCH principal Prof Indrajit Saha, the medical accessories were functioning properly.

“Covid-19 cases are being reported. Therefore, we have to keep ourselves ready to ensure medical equipment and other infrastructure are functioning properly. Clinical readiness at hospitals is crucial,” Prof Saha said.

Meanwhile, Siliguri Mayor Gauttam Deb said they will resume public awareness programmes on Covid-19. Mr Deb expressed concern that only 40 percent of the people in the civic body area had taken the booster shots of Covid vaccine.

“Some Covid cases have surfaced. Only 40 percent of the population has been vaccinated with the third dose. People should not neglect the disease. We need to be extracautious,” he said.