Trial run at DRDO hospital may start today
LUCKNOW: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) may start the trial run of its 450-bed makeshift Covid hospital at Awadh Shilp Gram here from Friday. Officials with DRDO said the hospital was almost ready and it would be made operational once the trial run was done successfully.
Besides, DRDO officials said the hospital would be run by army doctors and state government doctors jointly.
“Our Covid-19 makeshift hospital at Awadh Shilp Gram is on the completion. We are expected to start the trial run or dry run under which the military doctors will ensure that everything is in place or not. Once the run that may take an hour or even 24 hours is successful, the hospital would be made operational,” said Dr Narendra Kumar Arya, director, Directorate of Public Interface (DPI). Officials with DRDO said the hospital, where more than 90% of the total work has been already completed, would be a boon in minimising the fatalities in the state capital.
Arya said of the total 450 beds, 150 would serve as an ICU and they would be equipped with ventilators, liquid oxygen connectivity and other life-saving logistics. The others will be the regular beds. “It will be as per WHO guidelines. We are specialised in setting up ICU beds,” Arya added. On April 24, defence minister Rajnath Singh had tweeted that DRDO’s makeshift hospital would become operational in another five to six days.
“Work is in full swing to establish a Covid facility in Lucknow that would become operational in the next 5 to 6 days. This hospital would be run by AFMS in coordination with UP government,” Singh tweeted. Like DRDO’s 450-bed Covid hospital, city would get another makeshift 250-bed Covid hospital that would come up in Haj House.
DM inspects HAL’s makeshift hospital and Cancer Institute
DM Abhishek Prakash on Thursday inspected the progress of work at HAL’s makeshift hospital and reviewed the ongoing preparations at Haj House. “Arrangements are being made at hospital, we are also looking forward for deployment of doctors and para medical staff at the hospital. The hospital would be operational within 10 days,” he said. The DM also inspected the Cancer Institute, where a Covid hospital of L2 (Level-2) category is proposed. “At the Cancer Institute, the 100-bed facility of L2 category would start with a week’s time,” DM said.