Two new COVID-19 hospitals with capacity of 2,500 beds to open in Mumbai next week

Mumbai is expected who have more workforce to deal with the ongoing crisis in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic with two new hospitals to be added to the list of COVID-19 hospitals by next week. A BMC facility at NESCO exhibition centre in Goregaon and an MMRDA hospital on the grounds of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) are being prepped to deal with the pandemic. 

The two new hospitals were initially envisioned as makeshift units. However, these hospitals have now been designed to offer full spectrum treatment and intensive care to the patients suffering from COVID-19. Civic authorities have told the media that the hospitals plan to accommodate 1,240 beds with oxygen support, 300 bed ICU and 50 dialysis machines. The BKC hospital is touted to have 1,000 beds, half of which will offer oxygen support. The two hospitals are also to have pathology labs and X-ray facilities.

With the increasing number of COVID-19 cases across the city, the authorities which had earlier planned on building quarantine centres decided on building full-fledged hospitals instead. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had earlier visited the hospital at NESCO on Friday. The CM further assured that the state government would provide whatever equipments the health workers would need to fight the pandemic in the city.

On the other hand, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday issued guidelines on preventive measures, isolation and quarantine for healthcare workers deployed in the hospitals. The ministry advised the healthcare facilities to activate their Hospital Infection Control Committees (HICC) which would be responsible for implementing the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) activities and organising regular training for staff.

The Ministry further released guidelines on the rational use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) based on the settings approach. The use of PPE depends on the risk profile of the healthcare worker. It has prescribed the PPE to be used in different settings such as the out-patient department, in-patient department, emergency department, ancillary services, and ambulance services.