kolkata a state health department committee has noticed gaps in covid care in private hospitals and has issued them a sixpoint recommendation that includes strict adherence to the anticoagulation protocol increased oxygen therapy before putting a patient on mechanical ventilation and monitoring the fluid electrolyte balanceaccording to the advisory the expert team has visited some private covid hospitals and noted certain lacunae in practise which are to be rectified the committee will visit the hospitals again to check whether these specific recommendations have been implemented the state had issued a similar advisory on june 29 to staterun covid facilities after noticing similar gaps that were reported in toithe committee said the top sheet provided for monitoring must be strictly maintained in all covid hospitals anticoagulation protocol should be followed as per guideline before putting a patient on a mechanical ventilator the experts recommended oxygen therapy should be escalated as per treatment guideline and prone ventilation should be attempted prone is a position in which a patient lies chest downthe committee also said that fluid electrolyte balance should be maintained that can prevent prerenal azotaemia and subsequent aki and death aki refers to acute kidney injury chronic kidney diseases have led to 111 deaths in males and 114 deaths in bengal according to the state health department covid datasheet the hospitals the committee said should have an antibiotic policy and should also have an infection control policy in placeaccording to state data in 767 of the 699 covid deaths in bengal the patients had acute comorbidity around 307 of the covid deaths in bengal has been in the 61 plus age group among the comorbid conditions hypertension diabetes cardiac ailments and chronic kidney diseases have led to most deaths