Baijal, Kejriwal inaugurate 500-bed Covid care centre at CWG campus

Kejriwal and Baijal inaugurated the facility through video-conferencing in the presence of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and officials from the east district administration.

In a bid to enhance Delhi’s medical infrastructure to fight the coronavirus disease, lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday inaugurated a 500-bedded Covid care centre at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) complex in East Delhi.

The 500-bedded care centre was made operational from Wednesday and has been attached to Delhi government’s Lok Nayak Hospital. (PTI)

Kejriwal and Baijal inaugurated the facility through video-conferencing in the presence of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and officials from the east district administration.

The facility was set up by the Delhi government’s east district administration in a record six days, the government said in a statement.

The 500-bedded care centre was made operational from Wednesday and has been attached to Delhi government’s Lok Nayak Hospital.

A team of 80 doctors and 150 nurses has been stationed at the new facility by the NGO ‘Doctors For You’ for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

“I am happy that the facility was built in just six days with the district administration’s efforts. Lok Nayak hospital earlier had 2,000 beds, then 100 beds were added through Shehnai Banquet and now, 500 beds have been added through this facility, which makes it a total of 2,600 beds that are serviced by this hospital,” Kejriwal said during the video conference.

Looking back at the days gone by, Kejriwal said all the preparations done by the Delhi government during the lockdown fell short eventually when the cases started surging.

“We lifted the lockdown on June 1. During the lockdown, the level of Covid management in Delhi was remarkable. We had anticipated a surge in the number of Covid cases after lifting of the lockdown, but this surge was unexpected. All our preparations we did during the lockdown fell short after we lifted it. Now, the situation in Delhi is under control,” he said.

The chief minister assured that the Covid situation in Delhi was “much better now” and that there was no shortage of beds at present.

“But this does not mean we do not take steps any further to tackle the surge. We have to learn from our past experiences and prepare for the future so that if there is a spike in Corona cases, there should be no shortage of medical facilities. There has been a massive expansion of Covid infrastructure in Delhi in terms of beds and other facilities, be it Covid centres or Covid hospitals,” Kejriwal said.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the residential quarters had also been readied in the CWG campus for medical professionals to stay. The facility has been jointly readied by the east district administration team, the health department, and the NGO ‘Doctors For You’.

“If the condition of a patient gets serious, he/she will be transferred from the general ward to the high dependency unit (HDU), and if no improvement is noticed, he/she will be taken to LN Hospital,” Sisodia said.

The newly set up Covid care centre in the CWG stadium is equipped with CCTV cameras, arrangements for food for up to 700 people and ambulances for taking serious patients to LN Hospital.

Apart from specialists and doctors, mental health counsellors have been deployed. Patients will have access to leisure activities such as books or board games.

This facility is equipped with separate beds for men and women. Out of the 500 total beds, 350 beds are reserved for men and 100 beds for women. The remaining 50 beds have been reserved for patients with critical conditions, and have attached oxygen supply with them.

Sisodia, who visited the facility to review its preparedness, said patients will start coming from Thursday.