DRDO's 1,000-bed hospital ready for Covid patients in Delhi

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Sunday established a 1,000-bed facility named Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel hospital to treat COVID-19 patients referred by the authorities.

The temporary air-conditioned facility will meet the need for more beds to house the increasing number of corona patients. Till Sunday, Delhi had recorded 97,200 corona cases.

Situated near Domestic Terminal-1 on Ulan Bator Road adjacent to the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) headquarters, the hospital, which has 250 intensive care unit beds, has been set up in record 12 days.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday visited the hospital and reviewed the preparedness.

Shah tweeted that the hospital was established in a record time by DRDO and Tata Sons.

In a tweet, Rajnath Singh said he visited the hospital in New Delhi on Sunday along with Shah, Harsh Vardhan and the Delhi Chief Minister. "This facility has been created by @DRDO_India in collaboration with MHA and Tata Sons in a record time," Rajnath Singh said.

DRDO, which is under the Defence Ministry, said that the hospital will be operated by a team of doctors, nurses and support staff from the Armed Forces Medical Services. "The hospital is fully equipped with facilities for patients like medical oxygen gas, PPE kits, ventilators, Covid testing facility and other lab tests," the DRDO said in a tweet.

The facility set up on around 25,000 square metres of land belonging to the Indian Air Force has patients and doctors' blocks, a testing lab and a pharmacy whereas a mortuary is being planned.

it is the second such facility to be manned by armed forces personnel after the 10,000-bedded one at Radha Soami Satsang Beas complex in south Delhi's Chhattarpur area, which was inaugurated on Sunday. The facility is manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

--IANS

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