Deja-vu moment as govt hospitals start mock drills to test Covid infra

It was a déjà vu moment on Tuesday for government hospitals across India, as they cordoned off sections for patients and beds, oxygen plants hummed and medical staff were called in as standby during a mock drill to assess the infrastructure to stave off another potential wave of Covid-19.

India has 3,421 active Covid-19 cases currently, and reported 157 fresh cases in the last 24 hours. Despite a low-risk scenario, the central government dec­ided to go ahead with a dry run to test its strength in case BF.7, the Omicron sub-lineage that has caused a spike in several countries, reared its head in India.

When Business Standard visited public hospitals across cities, the mock drills presented a mixed bag — while some created real-life scenarios to test preparedness, others were waiting for patients.

At Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Hospital in Ahmedabad, one of the largest public hospitals in Gujarat, the authorities dedicated an entire floor for the mock drill. “We have readied 20 beds with ICU and ventilators, 60 ward beds with oxygen, and another 40 beds for isolation. Around 400 trained staffers have been assigned for Covid patients,” said SVP Hospital’s medical superintendent Sanjay Tripathi.

As part of its preparedness, four of the six pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants were made functional with the remaining two kept on reserve, while a 20,000-litre liquid oxygen tank also stood on its premises.

The mock drill site at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital wore a deserted look a few hours after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s visit. It had 30 working ventilators and 44 beds. Urmila Verma, the mock drill facility nurse in-charge, said there was no demand for additional beds as hardly anyone among the incoming patients coming were complaining of Covid-19 symptoms. On Tuesday, Verma waited with her seven-member team for patients to show up.

Earlier in the morning, Mandaviya said: “It is important to ensure that the entire Covid infrastructure in terms of equipment, processes and human resources are in operational readiness.”

In Mumbai, some hospitals tried to create a real-life scenario.

Vinayak Sawardekar, medical superintendent, St George’s Hospital, said: “We also involved a ‘patient’ with Covid-19 symptoms. He underwent a virtual RT-PCR test and was kept on ventilator support as part of the mock drill.” He added that the objective of the exercise was to check if all facilities were in order. “We had our own checklist to see that all procedures were being followed,” Sawardekar said.

Seven Hills Hospital, the largest Covid-19 facility in India’s commercial capital with 1,700 beds, tested everything from admission of patients to shifting them to ICU beds, following the routine processes, the hospital’s oxygen pipeline, ICU equipment, as well as manpower preparedness. JJ Hospital checked its X-ray machines and oxygen supply units to ensure they were in order.

Mumbai’s municipal corporation said it had identified 10 civic hospitals, three government hospitals and 21 private hospitals with a capacity of 2,124 isolation beds, of which 1,523 were functional. The hospitals have 1,613 oxygen-supported beds, of which 1,021 are functional.

Delhi government, too, has reserved 450 of the 2,000 beds at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital for Covid-19 patients. Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that 8,200 beds were reserved in state government hospitals and if needed, their capacity would be increased from 25,000 to 36,000. In addition, the national capital has over 6,000 oxygen cylinders, oxygen tankers, and 928 metric tonnes of medical oxygen storage capacity, Siso­dia said. “The Delhi government hospi­tals are fully prepared for any situation. We need to be alert instead of being afraid of the coronavirus right now.”

Although not part of Tuesday’s drill, some private hospitals, too, gauged preparedness. For instance, at Sushilaben Mansukhlal Shah Multispecialty Hospital in Ahmedabad, a section of the basement parking was cordoned off to act as an entrance for ambulances carrying Covid patients. The patients would be accommodated on the third floor of the hospital that has been equipped with eight isolation beds, which can be quickly turned into ICU or ventilator beds. “We also have ample oxygen availability since our PSA plant that provides 10,000 ml per hour of medical oxygen is only 50 per cent utilised currently. During the second wave, we had set aside 420 Covid beds that were used by the municipal corporation. We are prepared to do so again,” said M M Prabhakar, the hospital’s medical superintendent.