ITBP says even after MHA nod, need 1 week for setup
NEW DELHI: With oxygen fast running out in several hospitals of the Capital that are currently caring for over 18,000 Covid-19 patients, official data from the Delhi government showed that as of 11:59pm on Wednesday, the city had just 16 ICU beds and 2,332 ward beds left for Coronavirus patients, even as officials and the CM himself have said that bed augmentation is underway on war-footing.
While the municipal corporations of Delhi are pitching in to offer as many beds for mild and moderate cases as possible, the city is quickly running out of the infrastructure and manpower required to deal with the increasing load of critical Covid-19 patients or suspects.
Amid this, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), whose medical, healthcare and ancillary staff were manning the country’s largest Covid-19 facility in Delhi, are yet to get back to the Delhi government with when and how their personnel can be deployed to restart the 10,000 bedded facility.
Officials have said that a letter was shot to the ITBP as soon as talks of restarting the Chattarpur facility began and they are yet to hear back from them. But ITBP officials have refused to say anything, citing that they are under the administration of the Ministry of Home Affairs and that all communication comes through them.
Interestingly, a large number of ITBP personnel are currently deployed in West Bengal for the assembly elections in the state, which is yet to conclude.
For now, officials aware of developments said that they had first asked for doctors and medical staff to at least restart with 5,000 beds, of which 200300 oxygenated beds will start first. These beds will then be increased as per requirements.
When asked if there is any timeline on when the facility can restart, the official said they hope for ITBP’s doctors and medical workers to help out but if that does not happen, they will have to call for Delhi government doctors and medical staff, who are extremely stretched out handling Covid patients in hospitals.
But even if the ITBP gets a nod from the MHA to redeploy its staff at the centre, one official said it would take at least a week for them to set up, especially given the fact that many are posted on election duty in West Bengal.
Last year, the facility was started and named the Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre with a total bed capacity of 10,200. The centre is 1,700 feet long and 700 feet wide — roughly the size of 20 football fields —and has 200 enclosures with 50 beds each.
A team of over 1,000 doctors, nurses and paramedic staff of the ITBP and other paramilitary forces had been earmarked to work at the facility. Till September last year, more than 5,000 patients were discharged after successful treatment here.
Many personnel are currently on election duty in West Bengal