Victoria Hospital has quarantine facility
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Bangalore: With poor response from private hospitals to set up quarantine facilities, the State Health Department is keen on setting up isolation wards in government hospitals. This is to ensure that the officials do not have to scramble for isolation wards in case of any swine flu eventuality.

Following a formal request from the Health Department, authorities at Victoria Hospital have set up a five-bed isolation facility on the hospital premises. A team of health officials comprising Health and Family Welfare Director Usha Wasunkar and Regional Director, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, C. Anbazhagan, inspected the facility at the hospital and suggested some modifications.

Dr. Wasunkar told The Hindu that the facility was ready to be used if any patient had to be quarantined. ?We have also asked for a facility at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. These will be additional to the one at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases,? she said.

She pointed out that passengers who land with suspected flu symptoms will be given a choice between the three facilities. ?The private hospitals feel that the quarantine facilities on their premises would keep away their regular patients,? sources said