The district health department and residents are disappointed with the self-serving role of private hospitals at a time when the Covid-19 active caseload crossed the 350-mark in the district.

Covid positive patients have to depend only on BSL’s run Bokaro General Hospital for treatment.

BGH is a dedicated Covid hospital of the district. The health workers and staff are struggling for the past year with no alternative arrangements to share its load.

Private hospitals and nursing homes which are participating in the vaccination drive are not admitting or treating Covid patients. About two dozen private hospitals are providing Covid-19 vaccination to the residents in the district. Around 250 positive patients are in home isolation.

Executive director, BGH, Dr A.K. Singh said that there are 70 Covid patients admitted at present but seeing the situation, they were forced to come up with 70 more beds to accommodate patients.

There are more than 50 private hospitals and nursing homes in the district. Most of them are functional in Bokaro Township. The doctors at private hospitals who see patients with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) symptoms send them to Sadar Hospital.

At present, BGH will only admit those non-BSL corona patients who are serious and referred by Sadar Hospital.

Civil surgeon Dr A.K. Pathak said, “Last week we had conducted a meeting with the owners and representatives of the private hospitals asking them to come forward providing treatment to Covid-19 patients, but none of them has turned up yet.”