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US hospital ship USNS Mercy in the Pacific Ocean in November 2021. US Navy photoThe government has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for a national hospital ship (NHS) for the Navy that will act as a floating 250-bed hospital in the high seas.
According to the RFI, issued on May 18 , the hospital ship — the first such for Indian Navy — will have aerial evacuation and boat ambulance facilities and should have the capacity to carry 600 personnel on board, including the crew, doctors and patients.
It will have one helicopter for evacuation and bringing people to the hospital ship.
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According to RFI, the ship “should have a capability for operating independently as a 250-bedded hospital providing primary and secondary health care” and have two patient reception areas to facilitate easy reception and transfer of casualties. One of these will be closer to the chopper deck.
The ship will also need to have at least two major operation theatres (OTs), and two minor OTs “with a pre-Operative Room and a Post-Operative Room attached to each”. Each OT would have attached facilities, including air handling units.
Based on the responses to the RFI, Navy will issue Request for Proposals to eligible Original Equipment Manufacturers through an Indian vendor. Once the contract is signed, the Navy wants the ship to be delivered in four years after that.
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