Telangana to spend Rs.317 crore to take on Covid third wave

The State government has launched a massive exercise to augment healthcare facilities across Telangana with an expenditure of Rs 317 crore to ensure medical infrastructure in government hospitals is not overwhelmed during a possible third Covid wave

As part of these efforts, Health Department is in the process of creating 20,000 additional hospital beds for infants and adolescents out of which 10,000 beds will be available in the government sector while the remaining will be available in private healthcare institutions. The 20,000 beds for children are in addition to the 55,442 hospital beds that were created in the State for the second Covid wave.

The authorities have set-aside a budget of Rs 133.9 crore for paediatric infrastructure out of which Rs 122.34 crore will be spent to procure medical equipment for 1,200 paediatric ICU beds, Rs 3.64 crore



towards surgical and consumables and Rs 7.88 crore for life saving drugs.

Although there was no shortage of medical oxygen, the second Covid wave had tested the limits of its availability in Telangana. Following this, the State government has decided to be self-reliant and is establishing oxygen generation plants across the State with a cost of Rs 103 crore.

As part of these efforts, about 132 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) medical oxygen generation plants are coming up in the State out of which 51 plants will have a capacity to generate oxygen at 1,000 litres per minute (LPM), about 61 plants with a capacity to generate 500 LPM and 20 oxygen plants with a capacity of 250 LPM. Also being set up are oxygen lines to 17,500 hospital beds in 133 government hospitals across Telangana with a cost of Rs 53.58 crore.