Covid safe homes, started by several private hospitals, are getting filled up fast, mostly by employees of the healthcare units. The hospitals said these employees were kept in safe homes because they did not have isolation facilities at home.
The Telegraph had earlier reported that the state government was concerned about the manpower crisis at hospitals across the state.
RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences had 30 beds in a safe home near its campus at Mukundapur in east Kolkata. After the facility got filled up, the hospital rented another guesthouse nearby and now there are 72 beds in the two safe homes.
“We have 51 beds occupied in the safe homes, all by our employees. If they had to be accommodated in our hospital, then there could have been a bed crunch,” said R. Venkatesh, regional director, east, of Narayana Health, of which the RN Tagore hospital is a flagship unit.
AMRI group has also set up a safe home facility only for its employees. The hospital group has converted a nursing hostel opposite it’s Dhakuria unit into a safe home with 40 beds.
An official of the hospital said most were filled up. However, following the seven-day isolation guideline, beds have started being vacated but at the same time, new employees are getting infected.
“As of now, we have a safe house only for employees. However, we have finalised talks with several hotels and will be able to start the facilities within 48 hours,” said Rupak Barua, group CEO of AMRI.
Belle Vue Clinic also had safe home facilities for its employees in the hospital building. “The seventh and eighth floors have been converted into a safe home for our staff,” said Pradip Tondon, CEO of Belle Vue. He said on Tuesday, most beds were empty as many employees completed their isolation period and returned home.