Months on, Faridabad Covid hospital yet to get staff

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, January 8

Despite the district witnessing a surge in positive cases, the Health Department is yet to sanction medical staff required to run the 96-bed hospital set up for Covid patients.

The Prefab Covid Care Facility (hospital) set up at a cost of several crores on the premises of the civil hospital here to deal with the Covid challenge has been awaiting appointment of staff for the past over two-and-a-half months. A requisition had been raised in October last, reveal sources in the Health Department.

The project has come up under the CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative. The list of 187 staff requisitioned includes 20 general duty medical officers, 10 specialist doctors, 40 nursing officers (nurses), eight pharmacists and radiographers, 16 technical officers, four ECG technicians, 36 general duty assistants and an equal number of housekeeping staff besides a dietician, a gas plant operator, two physiotherapists and support staff including an electrician, a plumber and five security personnel.

A communication seeking the sanctioning of the required staff was sent on October 29, 2021. With two-and-a-half months gone, the delay in appointment of staff could prove fatal, claim sources. Spread over 1,800 sq m in the civil hospital, its construction work was taken up in May last.

“Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and amenities, it can take care of all type of patients including those of Covid,” said a senior official of the Health Department.

Claiming that the new hospital has been functional, Dr Savita Yadav, Principal Medical Officer of civil hospital, said that the required staff was likely to appointed shortly.