J-K increasing isolation & quarantine facilities; decides to close routine activities in hospitals

The Jammu and Kashmir administration is drawing a comprehensive plan to deal with the coronavirus outbreak by increasing isolation and quarantine facilities across the union territory, an official spokesperson said on Monday.

It has also decided to close routine activities in identified hospitals and converting others into isolation and quarantine facilities to face any eventuality, he said.

The spokesperson said the decision to this effect was taken at a meeting, chaired by the Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo here, to review the advance preparedness to meet the challenge posed by COVID-19.

During the meeting, he said several decisions with regard to making infrastructure available for isolation and quarantine setups and mobilising the human resources for their effective functioning were taken.

It was decided in the meeting that the number of isolation beds and quarantine facilities at the hospitals is being increased to stay prepared incase of any eventuality, the spokesperson said.

Elaborating on its advance preparedness, he said it was decided to dedicate the Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar Jammu entirely, including newly-constructed 200-bedded block, to suspected cases of COVID-19.

It has also been decided that the GB Pant hospital, Satwari, Jammu would be made functional for isolation facilities while Psychiatric Hospital Jammu will also be converted into isolation ward and its patients shifted to CD Hospital, Jammu.

Stepping up its preparations in the Kashmir division, apart from isolation facilities in its various hospitals, the government has decided to convert SKIMS the Medical College, Bemina, Srinagar, C D Hospital Srinagar, JLNM Hospital, Srinagar and Police Hospital, Srinagar entirely for isolation purposes, the spokesperson said.

He said the newly-constructed IPD blocks in the district hospitals of Ganderbal, Pulwama, Shopian and Kupwara would be used for stepping up isolation beds.

Dulloo directed officials to mobilise the human resource and the necessary equipment in order to make these isolation facilities fully functional and also directed that a duty roster of specialists and doctors should be prepared for the effective functioning of the isolation facilities.

"Medical officers will be trained on an urgent basis for the management of ventilators, besides training for nurses and paramedics for handling the people presumed to be COVID-19," he said.

The spokesperson said the officers were also directed to take all measures to mobilise the paramedical staff and keep a reserve pool of medical officers and paramedical staff to face any eventuality.

"The directions have also been passed to hospital authorities to suspend all non-essential and elective surgeries and redeployment of doctors, specialists and paramedical staff will be carried out from the peripheries in case the need arises," he said.

The spokesperson said the services of NHM and ISM doctors and mid-level health providers (MLPs) from Health and Wellness Centre will also be utilised.

The meeting also decided that the walk-in interview for the medical officers by the National Health Mission should be expedited on an urgent basis, he said.