Set up a fortnight ago, amid the raging pandemic crisis, the temporary field hospital and the two makeshift COVID care centres in the Millennium City, with a combined strength of 600 beds, run thin on occupancy as the wave of the deadly virus subsides, but these facilities now gear up for a possible third wave and may remain in place till next year.
M3M Foundation trustee Payal Kanodia told The Hindu that the 400-bed COVID care facility set up by the philanthropic arm of the M3M Group with support from other organisations was now being readied for a possible third wave that is widely anticipated to affect children.
“Of the 400 beds, we now aim to convert 150-200 beds for paediatric treatment alone and plan to engage more paediatricians to prepare for the third wave. Though we have treated a couple of children, aged 12-15 years for COVID, we are in talks with the district authorities and “Doctors For You”, an NGO, to convert this facility partially into a paediatric one,” said Dr. Kanodia.
Scaled up facility
A joint initiative of the Haryana government and the M3M Foundation, this free-of-cost facility is managed by the Indian Air Force and “Doctors for You”, a Mumbai-based humanitarian organisation with an international presence.
While the centre was started with 150 beds, the facility was scaled up through additional 250 beds.
The centre also has a provision of food and medical facilities, including oxygen, wherever required, for patients. A mobile medical unit and round-the-clock helpline is also available for shifting any patient from the care centre to the hospital.
The centre, situation at M3M Urbana in Sector-67, also works as a step-down facility for nearby hospitals and admits less-critical patients based on their health status through a referral procedure to make beds available in these hospitals for more critical patients.
Dr. Kanodia said the facility only took “mild” and “moderate” patients, but had treated a few patients with co-morbidity as well. “We had committed the district administration to run the facility for six months, but might continue for another year keeping in view the situation,” she said.
Similarly, a 100-bed temporary field hospital set up at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector-38 in collaboration with Vedanta Group, Give India and “Doctors for You” has only 15% occupancy.
“We have 100 beds, including 20 ICU beds, but the occupancy remains low because of the sharp decline in cases. The doctors at the facility are provided by the Civil Hospital and ‘Doctors For You’,” said Lokender Singh, senior security manager of Vedanta Group.
Oxygen supply
Another 100-bed COVID care centre has been set up at Government College in Sector-14 in collaboration with Hero MotoCorp. While the centre runs under the supervision of Civil Surgeon, the disposal of bio-medical waste and sanitation remains the responsibility of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram. The district administration ensures oxygen supply at the centre, but the Hero MotoCorp group, too, has arranged 100 oxygen concentrators.
“It’s a heartening sign to see a rapid decline in COVID cases in Gurugram. We are staying fully prepared to face any subsequent waves of the pandemic in the coming months, and in keeping with this objective, we have plans to keep all the three COVID care centres in Gurugram running till these are required. These are fully equipped facilities and will help us address any healthcare issues in the coming months. All our stakeholders and partners such as Hero MotoCorp and M3M are fully aligned on this,” said Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg