Covid-19 preparedness mock drill conducted at civil hospital in Ludhiana
In an hour-long drill carried out at the Covid-19 ward building in the hospital, officials reviewed the preparedness of the hospital in attending to the patients in case of a rise in the number of Covid patients
Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the district, the authorities on Monday conducted a mock drill at the civil hospital here to assess preparedness for the virulent disease.
In an hour-long drill carried out at the Covid-19 ward building in the hospital, officials reviewed the preparedness of the hospital in attending to the patients in case of a rise in the number of Covid patients.
They also took stock of oxygen supply, beds and other facilities to ensure that the system was ready for attending to patients in case of an emergency.
Since April 1, over 100 cases have been registered in the district. Over the last three days, 47 cases have been logged, pushing the positivity rate to 2.13%.
The district on Monday logged nine fresh Covid-19 cases. According to the data released by the office of civil surgeon, Ludhiana has registered 113,807 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, while 3,020 residents have lost their life to the virus since March 2020.
Taking stock of the ICU beds in the Covid ward, sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Narinder Singh Dhaliwal said, “Hospital is equipped to treat level two and level three patients. All the facilities are in place. Though there is no panic situation in Ludhiana, we appeal residents to be more vigilant. As per the directions of Centre, during the mock drill exercise, we have found covid-19 arrangements satisfactory. Ventilators are functional, there will be no oxygen shortage as 79 dedicated oxygen concentrators, two PSA plants are operational here.”
After the review, hospital administration reported that their Covid-19 ward is equipped with 48 beds, out of which 24 are for isolation and rest of the 24 are in the ICU with each of them connected to the ventilator.
“We have an ample stock of essential medicines including steroids (LMWH), remdesivir etc. There are 79 dedicated oxygen concentrators, two PSA plants, five BLS (basic life support) ambulances, one ALS (advanced life support) ambulance, one mortuary van to tackle the recent rise in cases,” Dr Harinder Sood, Covid in charge at the hospital, said.
Reportedly, a team of 12 doctors, including medicine, paediatrics, anesthetist will be deputed in the Covid-19 ward if the need arises.
In spite of repetitive appeals made by ministers and several health officials to ramp up testing and vaccination drive, Ludhiana lags behind on both fronts.
While the state is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases, the health department is facing a shortage of vaccines.
