Chandigarh hospitals gear up for third wave

Amid the possibilities of a third wave of Covid-19, the health authorities have started ramping up medical facilities and infrastructure in the government hospitals to control the case fatality rate (CFR) in Chandigarh.

Though the third wave is not expected until next two months, experts feel that ramping up health facilities in hospitals is necessary as the second wave was more severe than the first.

Besides adding ICU beds and ventilators in government hospitals, the authorities are focusing on procuring essential drugs and equipment in advance. “Since the supply of Covid-19 essential drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab were erratic during the second wave peak, we have decided to procure all essential drugs in advance. We are also buying oxygen concentrators to avoid shortage during the peak,” said Dr Amandeep Kang, director health services, Chandigarh.

‘Could infect more children’
“As per health experts, the third wave could infect more children. So we have decided to make the Sector-45 civil hospital as a 42-bed paediatric Covid centre. Of the total beds, 12 will be made available for ICU while 30 will be oxygenated. Essential machines like BiPAP and X-ray machines will also be provided. The department is also hiring paediatricians and support staff to run the centre,” she said.

Dr Jasbinder Kaur, director-principal, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, said, “Since some of the ventilators are faulty, we are focusing on repairing them and we will be getting more to handle the Covid-19 spike again. Besides, we are adding 30 more ICU beds in the hospital, which will take the total to 100.”

Meanwhile, the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is ready to face the Covid-19 surge in case of an emergency. “We have sufficient ICU beds and orders have been placed for buying 20 more ventilators, which will take Covid-reserved ventilators’ count to 100,” said professor Jagat Ram, director, PGIMER.

Special focus on oxygen plants
Learning from the second wave, the health authorities have now kept their focus on increasing the availability of medical oxygen in city hospitals.

“Proposal has been sent to the central government to set up three oxygen generation plants in three UT hospitals, including the civil hospitals in Sector 22, Sector 45 and Manimajra. Two of the three hospitals will soon get approval and at least 200 litres of oxygen per minute will be generated at each plant,” Dr Kang added.

Besides, three oxygen plants are being set up at PGIMER, with a capacity of 1,000 litres of oxygen per minute each. Professor Jagat Ram said, “The plants will start functioning in July.”

‘Get jabbed to avoid third wave’
Health experts said that if people do not adhere to Covid safety protocols and will not wear face masks, especially in public places, a third wave may hit Chandigarh soon.

“Looking at the trend and people’s complacency, a third wave may arrive from August to September,” said Dr Kang, while urging people to get vaccinated at the earliest.

The department has set the target to administer at least the first dose to all eligible 7.12 lakh citizens by the end of July. Door-to-door vaccination drive is also planned for the senior citizens in August. Hindustan Times