Beds replace blackboards as 4 schools turn hospitals

The premises has been divided into two zones. Patients will be in the red zone, and the administrative work by medical staff and school authorities will be done in the green zone.

To augment bed strength in view of the unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases, at least four government schools in the national capital will be converted into Covid hospitals.

Representational: The makeshift hospitals will have separate zones for men, women, and children.(Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times)

Apart from linking these schools to hospitals in their respective districts, the government has also tied up with several non-government organisations (NGOs) to provide the schools with food, oxygen, beds, medicines, and PPE kits for all health care staff.

On Sunday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia visited Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya Rouse Avenue on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg to inspect the 125-bed hospital set up in around 14 rooms of the school, including classrooms and the auditorium.

The premises has been divided into two zones. Patients will be in the red zone, and the administrative work by medical staff and school authorities will be done in the green zone.

The school’s principal Devendra (who goes by one name) said, “The classrooms still have drawings by our children and it is a little unsettling to see desks getting replaced by beds. But we have to focus on helping people during this pandemic. While one part of the school will function as a hospital, the other part will be for urgent administrative work.”

The Rouse Avenue school auditorium has around 45 beds, with oxygen concentrators and oxygen cylinders.

The makeshift hospitals will have separate zones for men, women, and children. Upon entering the hospital, triage will be done by the medical staff and basic details of the patients will be recorded. Dr Ravikant Singh, the founder of Doctors For You (DFY), said they will maintain the facility at Rouse Avenue along with hospitals at two stadiums and a banquet hall.

Three other schools in north-east district have been attached to Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital in Tahirpur and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. However, beds and other infrastructure are yet to be set up in these schools.