ABSTRACT
Covid-19, just few days back, was foreign to us and now spreading its routes well in India. Starting with one case and now with 35,000+ cases, the virus is trending right now in almost every part of the country. The irony is not much is known about this novel virus, hence mortality and morbidity across the globe is on a peak. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities play a critical role in national and local responses to emergencies, such as communicable disease epidemics. The healthcare professionals need to be protected against coronavirus so that they can save other people who are in critical stage of the illness. Various command teams need to be prepared for implementation of infection control and transmission measures. However, that deals with a lot of training for the hospital staff, as well coping with surge for the resources as well as designing appropriate containment strategies. It is a complex interplay between hospital administration and the government along with the country's population.
ABSTRACT
In view of the COVID-19 surge, the construction of the Burns and Plastic Surgery Block at AIIMS, New Delhi was expedited at war footing level and converted into a COVID-19 Emergency response Centre (ERC). Engineering works were completed in a speedy manner and various patient care areas were equipped as deemed necessary for providing tertiary care to COVID-19 patients. A highly spirited team comprising of Emergency Medicine Specialists, Anesthesia and Critical Care specialist, Hospital Administrators and Nursing Officers was formed. Effective segregation of patient care areas into clean, contaminated, and intermediate zones was done using physical barriers and air conditioning modifications. The screening area for patients suspected of having COVID-19 was created in addition to a 2-step process i.e., Triage 1 and Triage 2, thereafter, patients requiring admission would be referred to the emergency area. An in-house designed and fabricated sampling booth was created to bring down the use of PPEs and for better infection control. The ERC has a general ward and state of the art intensive care units. Mobilizing resources (machinery, manpower, consumables etc.) during the lockdown required commitment from top leadership, motivated teams, expeditious procurement, coordination with multiple agencies working on site, expediting statutory clearances, coordination with police services, transportation of labor etc.