Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 17 (EMN): Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK), a government designated Covid-19 Hospital, has come up with an action plan to deal with Covid-19 positive cases.
Briefing media persons, Dr. G Thong said that 67 isolation beds have been prepared in the hospital at present. According to the action plan, all those who come for screening and whose cases fit the criteria for sample collection would be sent to isolation ward. However, if the test results comes negative but have other problems like TB, pneumonia, asthma, and other issues, they would be referred to other private hospitals.
“If they test positive, we will be sending them to Chedema Covid hospital initially,” Dr. Thong said, adding that once the Covid-19 hospital at Chedema is filled, patients would be sent to NHAK and admitted in the designated wards.
Owing to infrastructural constraints and as per the safety contingency plan, he stated that no VIP accommodation would be provided except for the existing limited accommodation reserved for the head of state.
He also stated that once a Covid-19 positive patient is admitted, no healthcare staff on duty would be allowed to leave the hospital premises during the entire duty period (1 week), and thereafter undergo compulsory institutional quarantine at the designated centre followed by home quarantine.
For taking care of the Covid patients, he stated that only required manpower would be utilised accordingly to the number of the patients in the ward. “We want minimal workforce in order to reduce the exposure of our healthcare workers,” he stated.
In the event of exhaustion of the available healthcare workers, he stated that manpower would be requisitioned from other unaffected districts as deemed fit by the department of Health and Family Welfare. In the extreme event (worst case scenario) of total exhaustion of medical staff, he stated that medicine would be kept at the hospital medicine counter with instructions on how to self administer oral medications.
Dr. Thong informed that Home department would be responsible for provision of round-the-clock perimeter security to prevent escape of infected patients that could endanger the public outside the NHAK Covid-19 hospital. He added that the department has already sent security personnel and the hospital has arranged food and accommodation for them.
All admitted patients should wear mask and use hand sanitiser; wash hands with soap and water and observe all sanitary guidelines and respiratory etiquettes, he said, adding that all medicines and food would be provided by the government.
He informed that unclaimed dead bodies would be disinfected and hand over to the district administration for documentation and disposal as deemed fit. We are also planning to install public addressing (PA) system to give common instructions, counselling, meditational or recreational music to patients in the wards and EOC, he said.
Dr. Thong said that TV would provided at the EOC and treating team lodging area for news updates and recreation. CCTV and camera are also installed at strategic points. He said ‘Save a life pharmacy’ and ‘Jaan ashaudi pharmacy’ would be stationed outside the cordoned area and remained operational.
He stated that work distribution allotted to the hospital healthcare workers would be followed strictly by everyone during the operation. NHAK Covid-19 hospital work distribution would consist of incident commander, liaison officer, public information officer, safety officers, treatment team, security, triage counselling, duty detailment of HCW, dead body management, resource team, IT, documentation, training, transport and communications, medical supply, food catering, water supply and electricity, other supplies, and finance administration.
The doctor further said that the hospital is conducting mock drills in order to refine themselves and develop confidence before they go and treat the patients. He added that through the mock-drill, they would try to learn what needs to be done and fill the gaps in what they are lacking.