New 500-bed Covid ward inaugurated by Lt Governor in Jammu

The 500-bed Covid ward, inaugurated by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, will provide timely treatment to patients in Jammu.

J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday inaugurated a 500-bed Covid Hospital of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to Jammu, as yet another step toward strengthening the healthcare infrastructure to adequately deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of the entire 500 beds at Bhagwati Nagar Centre, 125 will be Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, while the remainder would be a set of Covid-beds with 24-hour oxygen facility. The hospital would be supplied with ventilators, monitors, an in-house pharmacy, a diagnostic laboratory, X-rays, and CT scans.

Jammu 500-bedded hospital — Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated a 500-bedded covid ward in Jammu hospitalPress handout

Underscoring the importance of providing the best healthcare services to the people, particularly those living in remote areas, the Lt Governor stated that the Jammu division's robust health infrastructure, which includes a decentralized community health system in the form of Panchayat Covid Care Centers, has a wide reach even in several remote locations.

Jammu health infrastructure

"We have also developed an effective and rapid response system to rapidly mobilize the physical and human resources within the healthcare delivery apparatus," said Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. Later, the Lt Governor visited the wards and inquired about the facilities accessible to patients in various sections of the newly opened hospital, including the Patient's Block, ICU Ward, General Wards, and Pharmacy.

He instructed health officials to ensure that the hospital referral policy was strictly followed in order to implement efficient patient care management. Hospital officials said that all information and records would be stored using Hospital Management Software for the optimal management of the hospital's operations. Wi-Fi, water supply with RO facility, security cameras with all safety regulations, and other vital facilities will be provided to patients.

Along with him, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member of Parliament, Chander Mohan Gupta, Mayor of Jammu and Bharat Bhushan, DDC Chairperson of Jammu, among others were present. DRDO Officers -- Dr. Lokesh Kumar Sinha, Director DGRE, Dr. Anil Khurana, Chief Engineer R&D North and Harpreet Singh, Senior Administrative Officer TBRL were also present.