Hospitals gear up to work round-the-clock on Diwali

With Diwali just two days away, hospitals in the Capital are keeping themselves well equipped to cater to burn and eye injury emergencies.

With Diwali just two days away, hospitals in the Capital are keeping themselves well equipped to cater to burn and eye injury emergencies.

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Central government hospitals — Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital — have redone their doctors’ duty rosters to meet patient emergencies 24X7 on the day of Diwali.

“We are completely prepared to tackle all sorts of emergencies. Besides reserving additional beds for burns victims, we also have extra doctors and paramedical staff on call, especially in the late evening hours,” said Dr JN Mohanty, medical superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital.

“We have ensured that we have a ready stock of medicines and other consumables incase the patient rush is more,” he said.

He added that they have sent a blueprint of their action plan to the health ministry.

“In case of an eye injury, one shouldn’t forcibly open the injured eye or try washing it. It is best advised that those attending to the person rush him to the nearest hospital,” said anophthalmologist from Safdarjung Hospital.

“Self medication should also be avoided at all costs,” said the doctor, adding that doctors will be on duty round the clock.

“Arrangements have been made to perform surgery without wasting time,” he said.

At Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, the administration has reserved 20-30 beds in the burns ward to handle patient rush.

“The entire staff, including specialists is working round-the-clock in two shifts,” said Dr TS Sidhu, medical superintendent of the hospital.

“From 8pm till midnight is the rush hour when we get the most number of cases. We have several small teams ready to handle multiple patients at any given time,” he said.