The district administration, National Health Mission (NHM) and Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) are working in tandem to ready beds with oxygen supply, including at a 1,000-bed COVID field hospital that is being readied at KRL School, Ambalamugal, with the support of BPCL, to provide medical support to COVID patients who cannot be confined to their houses.
Visiting the upcoming facility that is slated to become fully functional in a fortnight, District Collector S. Suhas said on Tuesday that this would become one of the biggest of its kind in the country. Over 100 beds which have been readied here will become functional from Thursday. The first phase of interviews to recruit doctors and nurses to the facility is over, said officials of the District Health Mission.
Major hospitals will be entrusted with the task of operating such facilities. Patients who are covered under the Karunya health insurance scheme too will be provided COVID medical care here. Those who participated in an online meeting that was held on Tuesday to assess the progress of work on the facility include Chief Manager of BPCL Kurian Alappat and officials of government departments concerned.
Sources in BPCL said that the agency would supply oxygen manufactured to the desired purity to the upcoming field hospital.
“A total of 100 beds have been readied on the premises. We have planned a total of 1,500 beds, including 500 in buildings. Apart from beds having piped oxygen supply, there would be portable medical equipment to tend to patients. Ambulances will be kept ready to shift patients whose health condition does not improve despite being given oxygen, to regular hospitals,” said an NHM official.
The field hospital is being built using two rows of ‘German tents’. Efforts are on so that private hospitals can manage the facility as their annex, while providing their doctors and nurses, he added.
Officials and engineers of the LSGD did the groundwork to identify open spaces and unoccupied halls to arrange temporary healthcare facilities for those who are COVID positive and need better medical care. “Our engineers ready the design and space within each cubicle. We have been using our own and Plan funds allocated for different projects to set up these medical facilities, considering the pandemic situation,” said an official of the Kochi Corporation.
In the first half of 2020, it was the responsibility of PWD (Buildings wing) to identify vacant buildings to house COVID-treatment facilities. It had identified around 2 lakh rooms. The task was subsequently handed over to the LSGD.
