Amid Covid-19 crisis in Bengaluru, BBMP turns hospital into maternity centre

In a new move, the BBMP announced that it has turned a hospital in the city into a maternity centre following pregnant women testing positive after visiting government hospitals for medical care.

On Wednesday the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announced that it would be converting a hospital into a maternity centre in Bengaluru. The move comes following a steep rise in cases in the city, which has created a cause of concern for the government.

Moreover, reports have reached the civic body that pregnant women who've visited government and BBMP hospitals for medical care test positive.

Wilson Garden Hospital becomes dedicated 24-hour maternity centre

Bengaluru has over 12,500 cases currently. With new COVID-19 cases continuously rising, new concerns are cropping in the state capital as offshoots of the pandemic. The BBMP has now seen a new issue as pregnant women who visit hospitals in the city for their check-ups and procedures testing positive after.

To combat this, the BBMP has created a dedicated Maternity centre in the city. In an order dated 8th July, the BBMP announced, "It has been noticed that many pregnant women (during ANC/NATAL/PNC period) who are seeking health care at our hospitals outpatient or inpatient report as COVID-19 positive at some point of time, following which the hospitals are being closed temporarily for sanitization before the services are resumed."

BBMP order for designated maternity hospital — @mla_sudhakar on Twitter

Swab collection is done 15 days before the established date of delivery for pregnant women according to government guidelines but due to practical difficulties, this may be delayed and reports are received late. The order further reads, "Though all such cases are being managed in our BBMP referral hospitals and Maternity homes, there is a need to designate one for better compliance and to avoid the simultaneous closure of hospitals needing sanitization."

Therefore the civic body has assigned the Wilson Garden Maternity hospital for the purpose, which is a 24-bed facility equipped to handle COVID suspect cases and OT facilities. Dr Sudhakar announced on Twitter on Thursday morning, "In the wake of the rise in COVID cases, the 24-bed Wilson Garden Maternity Hospital with OT facilities has been set up to treat pregnant women who are suspected to be pregnant with BBMP."