Delhi govt to augment ICU bed capacity in COVID-19 hospitals: Sisodia

With surging number of coronavirus patients, the Delhi government is gearing up to augment ICU bed capacity in the city’s dedicated COVID 19 hospitals, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Friday.

He assessed the existing pandemic situation and discussed ramping up of the capacity of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in hospitals with medical directors and administrators concerned.

The medical chiefs of all the hospitals have been directed to increase their bed capacity and all other requirements owing to the rise in COVID-19 cases in the national capital, he said.

"In this realisation, the Delhi government has directed to increase the ICU bed capacity in all the big dedicated COVID-19 hospitals,” Sisodia said.

The deputy chief minister also appointed vice chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), with which most PG medical institutions are affiliated, for recruitment and deployment of final year medical students for six months to meet the shortfall of ICU manpower.

He said one of the major problems raised by the directors of the hospitals during the meeting was lack of ICU manpower.

S K Sarin, chief medical officer of ILBS hospital, suggested immediate deployment of all MD, MS, DNB graduate doctors in various PG medical institutions to be engaged for six months at Delhi government COVID-19 hospitals. Similarly, all PG and UG final year nursing students be deployed for ICU duty for six months, he said.

Keeping in view the current coronavirus situation and the number of patients in need of intensive care, the hospitals were directed to augment ICU health infrastructure at the earliest.

The GGSIPU vice chancellor is authorised to recommend the honorarium to be paid to the recruited medical students, Sisodia said in an official note.

He said oxygen supply is to be attached to all beds of COVID-19 hospitals. “Most of the existing beds in hospitals currently have oxygen supply for patients, and in the next ten days, all other beds will have oxygen supply attached to them. The bed capacity, as well as all the infrastructural and manpower assistance, will be given to the hospitals as and when required by them," he said. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier took stock of the preparations at the newly constructed hospital in Burari, where 450 beds will be installed for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

Beds with oxygen supply will also be installed at the newly constructed hospital in Ambedkar Nagar, a government statement said.