Andhra Pradesh: ESIC hospitals to function as Covid treatment facilities

The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has converted all its hospitals into Covid-19 care centres.

ESIC is operating hospitals in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Tirupati.

The corporation is also planning to make ESI dispensaries provide Covid-19 assistance to workers in other towns. ESIC has launched a portal that displays the availability of beds on a real-time basis.

“We have already converted many of our ESI hospitals into dedicated Covid-19 treatment facilities while making efforts to provide assistance through other dispensaries,” said an ESIC spokesperson.

The spokesperson said ESIC has deployed an IT team to develop a dashboard that could function on a real time basis and reflect the availability of beds. “Presently, 21 hospitals with 3,676 isolation beds, 229 ICU beds and 123 ventilators have been provided in ESI hospitals across the country,” he said.

Similarly, 26 hospitals run by the state governments have also been converted into Covid-19 dedicated hospitals, which have 2,023 isolation beds.

At least 20 per cent of the total beds would be reserved for insurers, beneficiaries, staff and pensioners. ESI spokesperson said the beneficiaries could avail treatment in tie-up hospitals where there are no dedicated ESI hospitals. “Reimbursement will be granted for beneficiaries for treatment in referral hospitals,” said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the corporation has also decided to extend medical benefits to workers registered under the scheme. In case the beneficiary has abstained from work after getting infected with Covid-19, they are entitled to 70 per cent of the average daily wage as compensation for 91 days.