Hewlett Packard Enterprise deploys COVID-19 test labs, OPD centres in India

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) on Thursday said it has deployed four COVID-19 test labs and four outpatient department (OPD) centres across the country to assist the central and state governments in their efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

These facilities -- set up in Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, and Dehradun -- have been set up to provide additional authorised testing facilities and isolation beds to manage the increased demand across the country.

"Donated as part of HPE's commitment to India announced last July, the HPE COVID-19 test labs are designed to enable quick and clean testing of individuals who suspect they may have contracted COVID-19, and will be based on the specifications provided by the Ministry of Science and Technology," according to a statement by HPE.

The test labs will be run and managed by the government agency concerned, including installing testing equipment, deploying paramedics and technicians, providing broadband connectivity, personal protective equipment (PPEs) and medical supplies, US-based company added.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge local communities across the world, we are responding with initiatives to support the communities where we live and work. The deployment of HPE COVID-19 test labs and OPD centres will support the government's efforts to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19," HPE Managing Director (India) Som Satsangi said.

HPE has developed and deployed these test labs and OPD centres in 40-feet refurbished negative air pressure containers equipped with biometrics, blood pressure apparatus, spirometer, serum analyser, pulse oxymeter, glucometer, pulse reader, and ECG.

All this equipment will be integrated with EMR (electronic medical record) applications, and an online dashboard will be provided to monitor the related OPDs, the statement said.

Additionally, suitable IT equipment will be provided, including workstations, headphones, thermal cameras, networking components, and UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems, it added.

The OPD centres will handle walk-in patients and will have provisions to house six patients for 24 to 48 hours for observation purposes.

It will have negative air pressure doors to ensure isolation and also serve as a temporary housing for people with COVID-19 symptoms until they are either discharged or are sent to the applicable wards for treatment. Precautions have been taken to ensure minimal IT downtime and issues can be rectified remotely without the need of an on-site engineer.

In case of any issues, the HPE Network Operations Centre (NOC), located at Chandigarh, will be able to detect and resolve problems, the statement said.