With Covid-19 billowing in the breeze of Delhi and a number of cases going through the roof, the Delhi government is determined to stay on course by taking in non-invasive ventilation mechanisms to existing ICU beds in the government hospitals. Their telos of being able to accommodate approximately a thousand patients a day as the number of patients proliferates.
The state government is bashing away at augmenting the number of ICU beds in the state as a report drafted by NCDC (National Centre for Disease Control) stated that the federal state needs to be ready for an influx of about 15,000 patients per day. The report ”Revised Strategy for control of COVID-19 version 3.0” prepared by the expert committee under the guidance of Dr. V K Paul, NITI Ayog member (Health), has mentioned that this would be due to the advent of winter season which will tow in a body blow of season-related respiratory infections. The state government has been exhorted to take measures to tone down the 1.9% fatality rate of Delhi which is higher than the 1.5% mortality rate of the whole nation.
With a view of grasping this nettle, the government has created a reserve stock of liquid oxygen and has fitted specialised high-flow oxygen nasal cannula (a device consisting of a lightweight tube to deliver supplemental oxygen) and a machine which uses a mask connected to a ventilator to supply pressurized air into one’s airways, also called BiPap machine (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure).
According to the government’s ‘Delhi Corona’ app, 68% of the over three thousand ICU (intensive care unit ) beds that are with or without ventilators are occupied by the patients. Delhi Hospitals have observed an admission of about 5800 Covid patients in the last week and approximately, an influx of 5,171 a week before that.
Lok Nayak Hospital, Delhi’s largest hospital for Covid-19 which has a facility of more than 2000-beds, has added 200 more beds in its wards in the last fortnight. According to one of its doctors, the hospital now has 430 ICU beds thus, reaching its highest capacity. Rajiv Gandhi Superspeciality hospital in Tahirpur, which has 500 beds, has converted 400 of them into make-shift ICU beds.140 of these beds have BiPap machines and two hundred have ventilators that can be used as BiPap machines. The officials stated that the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel centre for Covid-19 has sufficient ICU beds. There is also a make-shift hospital in Chhattarpur which is set up by the army and consists of 250 beds. While some other hospitals, such as Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, need more healthcare workers in order to augment the quantity of beds in their wards.
The government has exhorted 33 private infirmaries to put aside 80% of their total ICU wards for Covid-19 patients. The case is awaiting the decision of the Delhi High Court. Satyendar Jain, Health Minister of Delhi, sharing his views in a press briefing said that a month ago, they added approximately a thousand ICU beds making it a total of 2900 beds at hand in Delhi out of which 1200 beds are unoccupied.
