With the hospital set to restart its services, it has been suggested that some of the staff members deployed on Covid-19 duty be called back.
Regarding registration, it has been advised that patients visiting the new Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (RAK) OPD at AIIMS will continue to register in the new facility
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is finalising its plan to restore services at the hospital from this week. The plan involves equally redistributing personnel from Covid-19 centres in all departments to reallocating beds for indoor patients.
“The services are likely to start this week. Discussions on whether the services should be partially opened or in one go are going on with all the heads. Suggestions regarding limited registrations have also poured in. We are working on the plan,” said Dr DK Sharma, medical superintendent of the hospital.
Regarding registration, it has been advised that patients visiting the new Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (RAK) OPD will continue to register in the new facility. The old RAK OPD hall will also be made available for new patient registration while the ground floor will scan the OPD cards of follow-up patients. Trauma emergency services will continue to function from the ground floor of the old RAK OPD.
The gynecology and obstetrics OPD will be accommodated on the first and the second floor of the old RAK OPD. At present, a temporary delivery area for Covid-19 suspected patients has been set up on the third floor of the building.
“It was informed that due to trauma cases and earmarking OTs for suspected Covid-19 patients, there is a shortage of operation theatres. Hence, it has been proposed that the casualty OT needs to be utilised for trauma and orthopedics and surgery cases,” stated the minutes of meeting of the discussion, a copy of which is with The Indian Express. The OT management committee has been asked to look into the plan.
Anticipating a surge in infection in April, the healthcare workers at the main hospital were redistributed and deployed at AIIMS Trauma Centre and Burns block to take care of Covid-19 patients. With the hospital set to restart its services, it has been suggested that some of the staff members deployed on Covid-19 duty be called back. However, the staff allotted for PPE-related work will continue with their duties.
“All heads of departments said patients getting admitted and posted for surgery must be tested for Covid-19,” the minutes of the meeting further stated.
The medical institute has already been providing tele-consultancy services to all patients currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. Emergency services in the hospital are also operational to cater to crucial cases during the lockdown.
On March 18, AIIMS sent an advisory to the OPD patients on their registered phone numbers, requesting them to postpone their appointments. From March 20, the hospital curtailed elective surgeries and a screening area was opened for patients having symptoms of respiratory tract infections.
To ensure smooth treatment of Covid-19 patients, the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center (JPNATC) was converted into a dedicated Covid-19 hospital and the patients were shifted to the main campus. The hospital is now working on the redistribution of the beds for patients in the coming days.
