How India's health ecosystem is preparing for third Covid-19 wave

Crisis management: Oxygen plants at hospitals, doctors & nurses on standby, ICU beds, buffer stock

“We have recruited medical staff and kept them on stan­d­by for Covid duty if the need arises,” says Joy Chakraborty, chief operating officer of Hinduja Hospital in south Mumbai. While the hospital now has 78-80 operational Covid-19 beds (21 are currently occupied), it plans to double the number if the third wave hits. And to avoid last-minute manpower crisis, Hinduja has recruited additional doctors and nurses. “Even after Covid, we feel we can always use their services to treat non-Covid patients,” Chakraborty says.

As India braces for a possible third wave, the health system is trying to ensure that it isn’t