KOLKATA: Mock drills were carried out in various hospitals in the city and districts as well to check the preparedness of the health establishments to combat Covid situation if there is a further surge.
Mock drills were performed at Beliaghata ID hospital, RG Kar Medical College and MR Bangur Hospital on Tuesday during which several aspects related to patients' service was looked into.
How the patients would be transported to the hospitals and handlings of patients were also demonstrated during the mock drill.
How the hospitals are prepared to handle the patients and the existing infrastructures were among the topics which were discussed during the mock drill. The supply of uninterrupted oxygen was one of the top priorities on the agenda.
Beliaghata ID Hospital has opened a special isolation ward with a ventilation facility to cope with the situation. A government hospital from each district also took part in a mock drill. Various hospitals will also submit reports to the health department on the basis of their preparedness to combat the dengue situation.
The Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a meeting with various states on December 23 and said a mock drill would be conducted in hospitals across the country to test the Covid emergency preparedness. It aims to check emergency responses to deal with Covid cases.
Following the advisory from the Union Health Ministry, the state Health department has given instructions to ensure continuous monitoring of critical care infrastructure including ventilators so that the equipment is run efficiently during the peak time.
Genome sequencing on the samples from both the private and government hospitals has been given utmost importance. Hospitals will soon be asked to reactivate their individual Covid units. More than 1 lakh testing kits are being purchased for effective antigen and RT-PCR testing.
State government has increased the genome sequencing of Covid positive samples. Health department officials have been carrying out meetings with the district officials taking stock about the preparedness.
The Bengal government has written a letter to the Centre asking for doses of
Covid vaccine.