The Delhi government on Tuesday launched a mobile application to help track hospital beds and ventilators for Covid-19 patients in the city.
Speaking to the media, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the app is being launched to bridge the gap in information.
He said there has been a surge in coronavirus cases in Delhi, but there is no need to panic because the government has made sufficient arrangements.
He said if a person gets infected with the virus, the government has made arrangements for the availability of beds, oxygen, ventilators, and all health facilities for their treatment.
“Many nations across the world have faced the issue of inadequate health infrastructure due to coronavirus,” said Kejriwal.
He said there were countries where out of 20,000 Covid-19 patients, only 8,000 got adequate treatment because there were no beds, ventilators, and ICUs.
“This led to these countries being severely impacted by coronavirus because there were more deaths,” the CM said.
“While we say that there is adequate health infrastructure such as beds, ventilators, and ICUs, we receive distress calls and messages from people not getting beds for treatment in hospitals. There is a gap in information,” he said.
The Chief Minister also said that people are unable to gather information on where they will receive adequate treatment and about the availability of beds etc.
“They have no idea what to do if that happens. To bridge that gap in information, we have launched an app. You can download this app to avail information on bed availability in various government and private hospitals in Delhi,” Kejriwal said.
He said the app shows the availability of beds, and hospital-wise availability of beds in a dashboard format and also provides information about ventilators.
“The app shows the status of the total number of beds in the hospitals in Delhi, and when you click on the figure, you get information about bed availability in every hospital. There are 6,731 beds in the hospitals, out of which 2,819 beds are occupied and 3,912 are vacant,” Kejriwal said.
The app also shows the availability of ventilators in Delhi hospitals, and the CM said that out of 302 ventilators available in the hospitals, 92 are occupied and 210 are vacant.
Kejriwal said that the app will be updated with the latest figures twice a day, at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
“You can download the app ‘Delhi Corona’ on Google Play Store and access it on the web on delhifightscorona.in/beds, or call on 1031 to know the bed availability status on SMS. You can also WhatsApp on 8800007722 to download the app,” the CM said.
He also said that if any hospital denies any patient, people can call at 1031 and the Special Secretary (health) will ensure the admission.
“If you are denied a bed in a hospital after you went there following accessing all information on the availability of beds in that hospital, you can call on 1031. Your complaint will be notified to our Special Secretary, Health, and your complaint will be resolved and the bed will be made available to you,” he said.
Kejriwal said that in Delhi, there are more than 20,000 Covid cases while only 2,600 patients are in the hospitals. Around 6,000-7,000 people are getting recovered at home, who do not need to be hospitalized, he said.
“It is very important to ensure proper management of this healthcare system to avoid overcrowding of hospitals. If a doctor consults an analysis and says there is no need to be admitted to the hospital and advises you to self-isolate at home because you are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms, please do it,” the CM said.
“We have appointed a team that will be in regular touch with you and your family. If your condition worsens, you will be immediately transferred to a hospital and a bed will be arranged for you,” he added.
