Hindu Rao hospital not yet ready to operate as Covid hospital

NEW DELHI: More than a week after North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run Hindu Rao hospital was supposed to start its operations as a designated Covid hospital, the resource-starved healthcare facility is still not prepared to meet the challenge. Senior doctors at the hospital say that they are still working out the logistics and resource allocation and the facility is not yet ready for admissions.
On June 14, Delhi government had issued orders for making Hindu Rao a Covid hospital. “In view of the projections of surge in Covid-19 cases and the necessity of augmenting bed capacity urgently, Bara Hindu Rao Hospital running under North Delhi Municipal Corporation is hereby declared as a designated Covid-19 hospital,” the state health department had said in an order. The hospital had been directed to make beds available to admit Covid-19 patients as per the protocol by June 16. The orders are yet to be realised.
A senior corporation official said that around 60-70% preparations have been made but the hospital faces severe shortage of resources to run a Covid facility.
A doctor said that the 980-bed hospital will require at least 200 oxygen cylinders while only 100 are available. “We do not have enough PPE kits or N-95 masks to keep a Covid hospital running,” the doctor added.
Mayor Avtar Singh said that the hospital will require at least 10,000 PPE kits for week-long operations. “We will also need double the number of masks and other equipment. We have sent demand letters to Delhi government, but no response has been received yet,” he added.
North DMC officials said that initially they were planning to run a 200-bed Covid section, but that estimate had now been reduced to 100 beds in the initial phase.
Singh said that 19 sampling centres will be created, while the administration will make lodging arrangements for healthcare workers within the campus.
Officials say that the staff will be deputed on a rotational basis.
As per the latest orders, 10 wards of the hospital have been closed down. “Ward 7 to 16 will remain closed till further orders. Ward 3-6 are designated for medicine department, while Ward 5 for surgery, ortho, eye and ENT,” the order issued by CMO states.