Pune: The work orders for two large hospital facilities to be set up at College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) and AISSMS College of Engineering ground have been issued on Friday (July 31) night. These two facilities will be completed before August 20, which will help reduce the burden on district and civic administration to make available oxygenated and ventilator beds for Covid-19 patients.
Divisional Comissionerate Special Officer Saurabh Rao said, “The work orders for the jumbo hospital facilities to be set up at COEP and AISSMS have been issued. The companies assigned the project have told us that the work will be completed in 22 days. But we have asked them to finish it before August 20 as per the deadline given by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in the review meeting held on Thursday. We will provide additional manpower and other resources to finish the project ahead of the deadline.”
Rao further stated that “The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has already begun jumbo hospital construction at the auto cluster in Chinchwad and Balnagari building in Bhosari which will have a total hospital bed capacity of 60 ICU beds and 525 oxygenated beds. The construction work of these two projects will finish in 10 days, but the PCMC does not have enough workforce to operate them in full capacity. So we will deploy additional workforce available with PMC at the PCMC facilities, and COVID-19 patients will be shifted in both locations as per requirement,” Rao said.
When asked about the participation of doctors from Military hospitals, Rao said, “We have requested them to treat the COVID-19 positive patients – including civilians – in cantonment board jurisdiction so that the burden on city hospitals is reduced. We have also asked the Armed Forces Medical College to provide doctors, intensivists and interns for COVID-duty in city hospitals for the next two months.”
Commenting on the Sassoon hospital capacity augmentation, Rao said, “District Collector has passed an order on Friday to reserve and actually use 50 per cent beds of their total 600 bed capacity for treating Covid-19 patients. Till now, only 200 beds were utilised for Covid-19 patients, but now it will be increased up to 300 hospital beds. From August 3, the total hospital beds available in Sassoon will be 870. The state government has given Sassoon hospital adequate financial assistance, and now we need to consolidate all our resources for the next four to six weeks minimum.”
