Around 200 additional doctors have been deputed on contractual basis for two months at the state-run hospitals and medical colleges in north Bengal to handle the spike in Covid-19 cases, sources in the state health department said here on Friday.

They include general physicians, doctors of respiratory medicines and anaesthetists who will function as medical officers and specialists at the government hospitals.

“Altogether, 198 doctors have been deputed by the government for the next two months. They will be posted for general duty as well as at critical care units and other intensive care units. As Covid cases are on the rise, it was necessary to have more doctors to handle the situation. They would be posted at 22 hospitals in the region and will join duties on Saturday,” said Sushanta Roy, the officer on special duty of the state health and family welfare department in north Bengal.

According to him, 25 new doctors have been posted at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, the principal referral hospital of the region in Siliguri. Additional doctors have been posted at the medical colleges in Cooch Behar (11), Raiganj (7) and Malda (20) also.

In Alipurduar district, 10 new doctors will join duties, while 32 extra medical practitioners will be posted at different hospitals and safe homes in Jalpaiguri.

“Additional doctors will also join subdivisional and district hospitals and safe homes of other districts. We want to ensure that doctors are available round the clock wherever Covid patients are under treatment,” said a health department official.

The Jalpaiguri district administration has started preparing an inventory of oxygen cylinders to facilitate oxygen supply to patients at the hospitals and safe homes.

“We have held a virtual meeting with oxygen suppliers and made it clear that if required, green corridors would be created with the help of police so that oxygen cylinders can reach the hospitals and safe homes directly from the plants. We are also working on the proposal to set up oxygen plants at the hospitals,” Jalpaiguri district magistrate Moumita Godara Basu said.

Administrative sources said teams had been formed to find out empty cylinders so that those could be used for treatment of patients.

In the neighbouring district of Alipurduar, district health officials said four oxygen plants would be set up at the district hospital, the super-specialty hospital in Falakata, the Tapshikhata Ayush Hospital(the only Covid hospital in the district) and the Birpara state general hospital in the next 15 days.

“The plants would be ready within a fortnight. Once commissioned, these would largely help us deal with the demand for oxygen in the district,” said Girish Chandra Bera, the chief medical officer of health of Alipurduar.

Additional reporting by our Alipurduar correspondent