As part of extreme measures to avoid spread of COVID-19 in hospitals, five departments in the speciality block of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) will be shut for three days starting from Sunday to sanitise the entire block. Services in other departments will continue as usual.
NIMS Medical Superintendent N. Satyanrayana said that out-patient and in-patient services of Medical Gastroentereology, Surgical Gastroentrology, Urology, Cardiology and Surgical Oncology will not be offered from Sunday to Tuesday. Since operation theatres of the departments are also located in that block, elective surgeries will not be performed. However, emergency services involving specialists of the departments will be offered in emergency block.
NIMS administration decided to close the block for deep cleaning and sanitisation after at least 24 of their healthcare professionals and Class-IV staff tested positive for coronavirus. Two nurses, three technicians and two Class-IV employees were detected with the virus on Saturday.
“As we don’t know the source of infection, everything in that block will be cleaned, including air conditioners. The existing patients admitted in these departments are being shifted to the other block,” Dr Satyanrayana said.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to stop transmission of coronavirus through droplets, the administration has placed a screen between doctors and patients in nephrology department on a pilot basis.