KOLKATA: Shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) has led Charnock Hospital — a private facility in New Town — to launch a tailoring unit to stitch protective suits for its doctors, nurses and support staff. The hospital decided to produce its own gear in the last week of March when several others were struggling to procure PPEs.
So far, the unit has churned out hundreds of PPE. It has also purchased and distributed 1,000 pairs of gloves. “We recently received 100 PPEs from the state government, but the number is obviously not sufficient considering they are being used by everyone at the hospital. So, rather than depending on an external vendor, we thought it would be better if we could have our own production unit,” Charnock managing director Prashant Sharma said.
All the gear being produced at Charnock sticks to the basic specifications for PPEs laid down by WHO. “While masks are made out of cloth, the coveralls and leg gear are being stitched from hospital sheets that are usually used to produce surgical gowns,” Sharma said.
Other hospitals like RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences and AMRI are procuring PPEs from vendors. “We are sourcing them mainly from Bengaluru,” said RTIICS zonal director R Venkatesh. AMRI has been struggling with fast depleting PPE stock. The authorities said that while government supplies have been slow, external sources have been erratic due to the high demand.
“We would rather depend on our vendors for proper body suits rather than use the government-supplied raincoats,” said another private hospital official.
So far, the unit has churned out hundreds of PPE. It has also purchased and distributed 1,000 pairs of gloves. “We recently received 100 PPEs from the state government, but the number is obviously not sufficient considering they are being used by everyone at the hospital. So, rather than depending on an external vendor, we thought it would be better if we could have our own production unit,” Charnock managing director Prashant Sharma said.
All the gear being produced at Charnock sticks to the basic specifications for PPEs laid down by WHO. “While masks are made out of cloth, the coveralls and leg gear are being stitched from hospital sheets that are usually used to produce surgical gowns,” Sharma said.
Other hospitals like RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences and AMRI are procuring PPEs from vendors. “We are sourcing them mainly from Bengaluru,” said RTIICS zonal director R Venkatesh. AMRI has been struggling with fast depleting PPE stock. The authorities said that while government supplies have been slow, external sources have been erratic due to the high demand.
“We would rather depend on our vendors for proper body suits rather than use the government-supplied raincoats,” said another private hospital official.
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