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Charak Palika Hospital to be converted to Covid-only facility soon
Officials from the government and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) confirmed that talks are on to covert the Charak Palika Hospital in south Delhi into a dedicated Covid hospital.
The Delhi government is likely to convert Charak Palika Hospital in Moti Bagh, run by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), into a Covid-19 dedicated facility soon.
The New Delhi district administration has convened meetings with NDMC officials to work out a plan to declare the hospital a Covid-only facility. The district administration has also sought details from the municipality about the health infrastructure available at the hospital.
Officials from the government and NDMC confirmed that talks are on to covert the Charak Palika Hospital in south Delhi into a dedicated Covid hospital.
“We have held several meetings with the health department officials of NDMC and Charak Palika Hospital regarding its conversion into a Covid-19 dedicated facility. We have asked them to submit information about health infrastructure available at the hospital so we have an idea about additional logistical support required before converting it into a Covid-only facility. They are yet to submit details. We will make the declaration in a few days after completing the due process,” a senior official of the New Delhi district, who is engaged in the procedure, said on the condition of anonymity.
Civic body officials confirmed the development. “The process is on. Even after a formal declaration, it takes 4-5 days to turn a hospital into a Covid-19 dedicated facility. So we hope that by next week, the hospital functions as a Covid-19 dedicated facility,” an NDMC official said.
Charak Palika Hospital is NDMC’s largest healthcare facility in Moti Bagh area. The total bed strength of the hospital is 156. It has six ICU beds and three ventilators. It caters to the medical requirements of people, mostly government employees, living in neighbourhoods such as RK Puram, Moti Bagh, Sarojini Nagar, Laxmibai Nagar and parts of Chanakyapuri.
Another official of the district administration said that since the number of Covid-19 cases is exploding, there is a need to create more healthcare facilities, apart from setting up beds in schools and community centres. “In such a scenario, hospitals being run by municipalities can play a vital role as they have basic health infrastructure which can be augmented further for special treatment. Even though there is a less number of ICU beds, we are not worried because we can create temporary ICU units on simple beds with the help of additional machinery,” he said.
The official added that once a hospital is declared Covid-only facility then the state, as well as central government, provide it with logistical support.
A senior official of NDMC’s health department said that the hospital has around 27 doctors and provides around-the-clock emergency services. “We have already created an isolation ward of six beds for any emergency. The condition of NDMC hospitals and dispensaries is better than other municipal hospitals in the city. The nearest hospitals treating Covid patients in the area are AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals, and both remain crowded. If Charak Palika Hospital is converted into a Covid-19 dedicated facility, it will be of great service in the pandemic,” the NDMC official mentioned above said.
At present, only two municipal hospitals have been declared Covid-only facilities—Hindu Rao Hospital of North Delhi Municipal Corporation and Tilak Nagar Super Speciality Hospital of South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
