Ghaziabad on Wednesday acquired the privately-run 250-bedded Divyajyoti Hospital at Niwari located on the outskirts of the district near Ghaziabd-Meerut border, to treat mild cases (L-1 category) of Covid-19.
The hospital is almost 30 kms away from the city limits and the district has decided to streamline its ambulance services to transport such patients to the centre.
The officials said that they have 14 government ambulances, including two advanced life-support ambulances, deployed to transport Covid-19 positive patients to hospitals, and back home after they are discharged.
“Since the L-1 hospital at Niwari is about 30km from the city limits, we have planned that route chart of ambulances will be chalked out. For instance, if we have patients in areas like Indirapuram, Vaishali, and Vasundhara, etc they can be combined in an ambulance as per a route chart. This is being done in order so that no patient has to wait at home for long,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate.
According to officials, they have also roped in about 20 private ambulances for the purpose too and will also rope in private mini buses.
“The buses will be dedicated for ferrying Covid-19 patients to our hospitals. Bus staff will be given protective equipment. We have also started sending letters to Covid-19 patients at our L-1, L-2 (moderate cases) and L-3 (critical) facilities to motivate them. We want to make them feel that administration and health care staff is working to treat them and happily see them off,” Pandey added.
{{/usCountry}}“The buses will be dedicated for ferrying Covid-19 patients to our hospitals. Bus staff will be given protective equipment. We have also started sending letters to Covid-19 patients at our L-1, L-2 (moderate cases) and L-3 (critical) facilities to motivate them. We want to make them feel that administration and health care staff is working to treat them and happily see them off,” Pandey added.
{{/usCountry}}The officials have shutdown the 60-bedded L-1 hospital at Nandgram and are now planning to open another facility at IMS College, Dasna. The other L-1 facility is the 76-bedded ESIC Hospital, Sahibabad.
“The IMS facility will be 400-bedded facility and we have started preparations. We also inspected one other facility at Modinagar but it had certain issues. So, we have almost dropped plans for coming up with L1 facility at Modinagar and will instead take over the facility at IMS College, Dasna,” said Dr. NK Gupta, chief medical officer. “We generally take away patients to hospitals within 24 hours of the test results. Since the hospital at Niwari is far, we are roping in more ambulances and seeing to it that transportation of patients is not delayed.”
Ten lab technicians and one pathologist were also trained in the use of rapid antigen kits which will be used for speedy detection of Covid-19 status of patients.
“We have received 10,000 antigen kits. We will now use it to test people in different areas as per a plan which will be chalked out by the district administration,” CMO said.
The district magistrate on Wednesday also acquired the Shambhu Dayal Inter College, near Navyug Market, as a temporary jail. Another temporary jail at Adhyatmik Nagar was already acquired to house foreigners who had come to attend religious congregations and tested positive for Covid-19.
“The temporary jail at the inter college will be used for housing inmates who test positive for Covid-19. They will be admitted here in case they are positive,” Pandey said.