Jammu, The J&K government has roped in private hospitals and nursing homes to create additional isolation facilities across Jammu and Kashmir for treating COVID-19 patients.

"We are continuously monitoring the situation and are roping in private hospitals and nursing homes to ramp up the isolation facilities across the Union Territory in case the numbers of COVID-19 patients increases. All the private hospitals and nursing homes are cooperating and have agreed to provide space for handling such patients" J&K Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education Department, Atal Dulloo said on Sunday.

He said that nursing homes have agreed to provide space for handling 5-10 COVID-19 cases each. "The nursing homes in Jammu and Kashmir have given us in writing that they have kept isolation beds ready to handle COVID-19 patients."

Atal Dullo said that they are assessing the facilities in these nursing homes to check their feasibility and efficiency. He said that separate teams have been constituted both in Jammu and Kashmir to assess the facilities that the private nursing homes have kept in isolation wards.

The FC said that government will start treating COVID-19 patients at the private hospitals and nursing homes in case the need arises. The government said that with the nursing homes pitching in, they will be able to add another 200 isolation beds in these nursing homes.

During his visit to ACOMS hospital in Jammu the FC was informed by the Director Principal of ACOMS that they have created space for 100 isolation beds with all the facilities in place. It was also informed that the hospitals authorities have kept separate space for handling emergency cases apart from keeping Intensive Care Unit beds.

The FC was further informed by the hospital authorities that they have suspended other OPD services and created a separate COVID Out Patient Department in order to check the contraction of the coronavirus.

Atal Dullooo said that with this initiative, the government has provisions for COVID-19 patients in the government as well as private hospitals.