Odisha spent Rs 892 crore on free COVID-19 treatment

BHUBANESWAR:  The Government of Odisha has spent over Rs 892.54 crore for providing free treatment to the COVID-19 patients in the state till October 2021, informed Naba Kishore Das, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Odisha. During first and second wave of the pandemic, state hospitals have raised a hefty bill – Rs 113.7 crore by IMS and SUM Hospital; Rs 77.32 crore by Jay Prakash Hospital, Rourkela; Rs 58.99 crore by KIMS Hospital; Rs 35.63 crore by IDH at Puri; Rs 29.79 crore by Neelachal Hospital, Balakati. 

The Government of Odisha was one of the few states that set up dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in collaboration with private stakeholders. Through this, the authorities managed to separate the COVID-19 patients from non-COVID facilities. First of such hospitals came up at KIMS, Bhubaneswar, which could accommodate over 500 patients. Ashwini Hospital, Cuttack with a capacity of 125 beds and a 500-bed dedicated facility by SUM Hospital also came to be in later stages of the pandemic. 

Across the state, the government also set up dedicated COVID-19 hospitals that had a capacity of over 40,000 beds with 4500 ICU beds and 1500 ventilator beds. Several COVID care centres and temporary medical camps were also set up with support from private partners during the pandemic. The Ministry of Health, Government of India, while replying to a query informed the assembly about the state’s expenditure on free COVID-19 treatment.