As a part of its preparations for the third wave of coronavirus, the Maharashtra government plans to increase the number of paediatric COVID-19 beds to nearly 2,300 from the existing around 600. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, BMC plans to create 500 beds for kids that will be gradually added.
On Sunday, May 23, a week after conducting an online session with family physicians, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray interacted with around 6,300 paediatricians and urged them to judiciously use medicines while treating children.
Keeping with the advice of the paediatric task force, the state government has also decided to create graded healthcare facilities for the management of moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 in children on the lines of dedicated COVID health centres and dedicated COVID-19 hospitals created for adults last year.
Members of the paediatric task force recommended that designated paediatric COVID-19 care hospitals (PCCH) and paediatric high dependency units (HDU) must be created at district and sub-centre levels, while the existing paediatric ICUs should be augmented with manpower and beds. Up to 95 per cent of children have been found to suffer from an asymptomatic or mild form of COVID-19, five per cent from moderate and only 1-2 per cent have a severe infection from this deadly virus.
In Mumbai, the NESCO jumbo facility will house 400 paediatric beds, including PICU, NICU and a creche, said dean of the facility, Dr Neelam Andrade.
Besides the creation of PCCH, HDU and PICUs beds, doctors at every level have to be trained to know when to refer a child to a higher facility, said Dr Suhas Prabhu, head of the paediatric task force.
In Maharashtra, 30 per cent of the population is in the paediatric category. There is nothing to say the third wave will hit children badly, but since they remain unvaccinated, preparations have to be made, said Dr Vijay Yewale, another paediatric taskforce member.
The doctors said reinfections are rare in children, while no child has been known to suffer from mucormycosis.
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