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Govt hospitals conduct drills to check preparedness in handling Covid-19 cases
Nurses, technicians and other paramedical staff are also being trained in handling the patient during transport, and in the intensive care units (ICUs).
As the country stayed home on Sunday to observe the ‘Janta Curfew’ that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for, doctors and healthcare workers in all government hospitals across the country are conducting drills to prepare for emergency response for handling Covid-19 cases.
During the drill, healthcare workers have been training in triaging (sorting, sifting or segregating) patients in the emergency room and conducting physical examination of people with respiratory symptoms, ensuring proper use of personal protective equipment, and frequent hand washing.
Nurses, technicians and other paramedical staff are also being trained in handling the patient during transport, and in the intensive care units (ICUs). Hospitals have to ensure no-touch thermometers, thermal imaging cameras, and limited observation and questioning, all while maintaining a spatial distance of at least 1 metre (between?), according to the health ministry standard operating procedures.
“The aim is to test and train at every level of suspected Covid-19 patient contact, right from the ambulance transport to triaging to shifting of patients, and managing in wards and ICUs as per the standard operating procedures issued by the ministry of health. This exercise will come in handy especially if the number of Covid-19 suspects or confirmed cases are high. The staff at all levels should be ready,” said Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary, health ministry.
Public health experts have been roped in to advise staff about the reduction of infection, supervise the handing over of discharged patients to State Surveillance teams for monitoring, and oversee proper biomedical waste disposal of the healthcare facility.
“This is happening for the first time not just in India but anywhere in the world. It will be just like a fire drill or a disaster drill. This is phenomenal. This is to orient our systems towards dealing with the emergency. If there is a surge in cases, we don’t have enough facilities. If we just look at critical care beds, the UK has 29 per 100,000, China has somewhere around 3.5, and India has about 2.5. The drill will help in capability orientation,” said Dr Giridhar R Babu, professor and head, Lifecourse Epidemiology, Public Health Foundation of India.
Hospitals have to ensure reduced crowds and well ventilated spaces for patients. Hospitals across the country have deferred elective procedures and taken measures to reduce the burden on out-patient clinics.
At Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the administration on Saturday decided to not allow walk-in at the out-patient department (OPD).
“The doctors will continue to give consultation to all those who already have appointments. However, walk-in OPD has been suspended for now. We will keep reviewing the situation. Around 25% of the cases coming to the OPD are usually walk-ins,” said Dr DK Sharma, medical superintendent of AIIMS. The hospital usually sees over 10,000 patients in the OPD in a day.
