Achievement: The Covid-19 hospital in Delhi that came up in just 12 days

\New Delhi, July 11 (Indian Express): The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel COVID Hospital, a temporary 1,000-bed medical centre spread over 25,000 sq metres of Indian Air Force land on Ulan Batar Marg near Delhi airport’s domestic terminal T1, opened its doors to patients on Thursday (July 9) evening.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has built the facility – which was formally inaugurated on July 5 – from scratch in just 12 days. Also involved in building the hospital were the Union Home and Health Ministries, and Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. Funding has come from a clutch of companies as well as DRDO employees, who contributed a day’s salary, the Home Ministry has said in a release.

The hospital’s 250 ICU beds will boost Delhi’s ICU bed capacity by 11 per cent. On the day of the inauguration, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said, “For now, there is no scarcity of hospital beds, we have over 15,000 beds out of which 5,300 are occupied. There is a paucity of ICU beds. If there is any spike in Covid cases, these ICU beds will be extremely critical for us.”

Who can be admitted to the hospital?

Anyone can. “We are open to any Covid-19 positive patient, as long as they have a test report. The patients can be referred by the district administration. But they can also arrive at the facility on their own, as long as they have a test report.” Major General S S Bhatia, Additional DG, Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), said.

No patients had, however, been admitted to the hospital until Friday.

What will it cost to receive treatment at the hospital?

All medical treatment at the hospital will be free for patients.

How many medical personnel will be working at the hospital?

A total 146 doctors will be working at the hospital. They will be from the Directorate General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) as well as from the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune. There will be approximately 50 nursing staff, also from AFMC, and paramedical and support staff.

“They will in all probability work in three shifts,” Maj Gen Bhatia said. “There is a well-defined area in the premises where they will be doffing and donning the PPE, as well as separate dining and accommodation areas for on-duty staff.”