Financial Commissioner (FC), Health and Medical Education Department, Atal Dulloo today said that preparations are under way to open up additional isolation rooms and wards, as well as intensive care unit beds to effectively cater to COVID-19 cases, should their number increase.He said this during his visit to the Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar Jammu today to take stock of the works on the new block that is being converted entirely for treating COVID-19 patients.The newly constructed block of the Gandhinagar Hospital will have a capacity of 200 isolation beds. Apart from the 200 isolation beds in the new building, the Hospital has 90 isolation beds ready to handle COVID-19 cases including a neonatal and a paediatric ward.During his visit to the hospital, the FC directed the authorities to work in a coordinated and effective manner on the isolation block. The FC was informed that the officers from the Public Works and other allied departments are working tirelessly and the 200 bedded block of the Gandhi Nagar Hospital will be made fully functional within a couple of days.The decision for dedicating Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar and other associated hospitals of Government Medical College Jammu entirely for treating COVID-19 cases was taken during a recent meeting to augment the isolation facilities. The government has also ordered suspension of non-urgent operations and other treatments to free up capacity for a possible surge on COVID-19 cases in various designated hospitals.
The FC said that while we have to increase the quarantine and isolation facilities across Jammu and Kashmir but our other critical care facilities like Spinal Intensive Care Unit, chemotherapy etc in certain hospitals must not suffer."We have decided to dedicate Gandhi Nagar Hospital, Chest Diseases Hospital and Psychiatry Hospital in Jammu entirely for COVID-19 patients. However we have to ensure that our critical care services in other hospitals must not suffer,” he said.He said that other operations of these hospitals have been wound down and will be dedicated towards the treatment of COVID-19.The patients of Chest Diseases Hospital and Psychiatry Hospital in Jammu have been shifted to Super Speciality Hospital and Government Medical College Jammu.He said that the idea behind dedicating some designated hospitals entirely for COVID-19 is to avoid intermingling them with other patients. He said that separation of the COVID-19 patients will prevent contraction of the virus.Director Coordination New Medical Colleges, Dr Yashpal Sharma; Joint Director Planning, Health and Medical Education, Madan Lal and other officers of the health department accompanied the Financial Commissioner during his visit to the hospital.