Chandigarh: GMCH ramps up infra to tackle Covid surge

From just 55 ventilators available at GMCH during the first and second wave of Covid pandemic, the number has gone up to 149

Taking no chances amid a possible third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, has started ramping up its health infrastructure.

The daily capacity for conducting RT-PCR tests has been bumped up from 450 to 1,200.

From just 55 ventilators available during the first and second wave, the number has gone up to 149. The daily capacity for conducting RT-PCR tests has also been bumped up from 450 to 1,200.

“The hospital recently received ventilators from the central government and some have been donated by non-governmental organisations,” said Dr Jasbinder Kaur, director-principal, GMCH. While 14 of the 149 ventilators have been kept at the paediatric intensive care unit (for children below 10), a dozen of them are reserved for the neonatal care facility, she said.

“The other problem we faced during the infection surge was limited RT-PCR testing capacity in Chandigarh. It has been ramped up to 1,250 tests a day. If the situation arises, we will extend the capacity to 1,500 tests per day,” said Dr Kaur.

The Chandigarh health department is also setting up a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plant at GMCH with a capacity to generate 1,000 liters of medical oxygen per minute. Though health experts believe the third wave will not be as aggressive as the second wave amid the ongoing vaccination drive, other government hospitals in Chandigarh are also ramping up their facilities to tackle another surge.