Private hospitals in Calcutta would take at least another two to three months “in the best case scenario” to normalise their operations, officials of several healthcare units said on Monday.

For some, the wait could be as long as six months.

The count of doctors and others involved in healthcare of almost every hospital has been reduced to almost a third on an average because back-up teams have been created from the existing staff to ensure departments are not shut down in the event of an employee getting infected with the coronavirus.

There is also a fear factor among a section of healthcare workers, especially nurses, that has triggered a shortage of staff.

Another hurdle to returning to normality, hospitals said, was the requirement for indoor patients to spend at least two additional days at the hospital for Covid-19 tests.

The OPDs of most hospitals have started seeing a rise in the number of doctors and patients. Elective surgeries, too, are being performed. But the numbers are small compared with the capacity of each.

The state health department had on Friday issued a directive asking private hospitals to “undertake a plan for time bound resumption/normalisation of services ....” The resumption of services must include outpatient department and day-care services.

On Monday, the Belle Vue Clinic authorities held a meeting with doctors to prepare a plan and guidelines for resumption of normality. The hospital has 250 doctors and the meeting was held with 40.

“We have set up rules for OPD…. The number of furniture at the OPD was reduced to half on Monday to ensure social distancing,” said Pradip Tondon, the CEO of Belle Vue.

The patients will have to take appointments over the phone and the test reports will be mailed to them. “The follow-up consultation will be by video conference,” he said.

The hospital in normal times conducts 25 surgeries every day on an average. “But now we are targeting 12 to 15,” said Tondon.

Other hospitals, too, said normal operations would not be possible now.

“We will take about three months to return to normality if the Covid-19 curve flattens and the lockdown is withdrawn. We are having one-third strength of doctors, healthcare workers and administrative staff. There is one back-up group and two other sets of employees are working in alternate weeks,” said Alok Roy, the chairman of Medica Superspecialty Hospital.

He said that would mean fewer patients and the system would continue for now.

Woodlands Hospital had 40-odd patients in its OPD on Monday, against the usual daily count of 300. Rupali Basu, the director and CEO of the hospital, said it would take some time for the number to rise.

Most of the hospitals that have not been designated as Covid-19 treatment centres have been asked by the health department to admit suspected or positive cases, which will require setting up of separate teams for the Covid-19 wards.

All hospitals are testing all patients being admitted, including the asymptomatic ones, for Covid-19.

But most are yet to get permission to conduct the tests in their laboratories, which is increasing the stay of a patient by at least a couple of days, said officials.

“Normality cannot be restored in a day. Our priorities are OPD activities, the emergency wing and surgeries. Virtual OPD is also the new normal,” said Rupak Barua, group CEO, AMRI Hospitals.