NEW DELHI: The Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JPNATC) of AIIMS is now opened to operate emergency trauma cases, said the department on Thursday. From the onset of the pandemic, the JPNATC building was converted into a dedicated Covid care centre. Emergency trauma cases and patients were attended in the main emergency building of AIIMS since then.
“After the trauma centre closed, many had to face difficulties. However, in these one and half year, we have further augmented our services, got new machines and improved facilities. Our team is going back being more strong,” said Dr Rajesh Malhotra, Chief Apex Trauma Centre, AIIMS.
The building will continue to admit Covid positive patients on one floor that has separate entry and exit points for them. Dr Malhotra noted that while the trauma services were affected, this period was used to enhance existing medical facilities at the centre. “We replaced the old MRI with a new one, which would have been difficult to do so if the centre was functioning normally. We utilised areas and turned them into two new ICUs. We got more operation theatres, private wards, and are also modernising our casualty. In the next four weeks, we will have double the area for emergency,” noted Dr Malhotra.
The building is also now equipped with a 10,000-litre oxygen tank to tackle any further waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Malhotra stated even when Covid peaked, the trauma centre handled the emergency cases. Be it an accident injury case that needed surgery or providing chemotherapy to a Covid positive cancer patient.
“There was a time when people coming to the casualty were mostly asymptomatic, and upon testing were found to be positive. Such cases were also shifted to the trauma centre. We performed around 100 Caesarean deliveries, 1,500 dialysis, pacemaker surgeries, endoscopy, and even tended to cancer patients who were bleeding — all Covid positive. It had been a very challenging time,” Dr Malhotra said.