GUWAHATI, May 10: Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) president and Rajya Sabha MP, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan has urged the Assam government to strengthen health infrastructure at the district level to tackle the second wave of COVID-19.
“While appreciating the steps taken by the government, I would like to make some suggestions, which are based on discussions I had with several public health experts. The present pandemic has made it abundantly clear that unless we strengthen our health infrastructure at the district level, it will be difficult to fight the pandemic,” Bhuyan wrote in a letter to the state chief secretary.
The AGM leader suggested that the district level hospitals be strengthened by raising the number of beds with oxygen and increasing the number of ICU beds with piped oxygen.
“Besides, nurses have to be trained for about five to seven days to make them capable of working in an ICU set-up. A central war room that can monitor and coordinate regarding availability of oxygen and ICU beds and other hospital beds for COVID-19 management should be set up so that patients get direction on enquiry in times of crisis,” Bhuyan suggested.
He further said that preparedness should be based on logistic calculation for maximum possible cases projected by mathematical models.
“The measures will ultimately strengthen the public health system of the state in the long run and it will be far more helpful for us to fight the present as well as all future waves of pandemic,” Bhuyan stated.