HYDERABAD: The opening of the much-anticipated and applauded 1500-bed Covid Centre in Gachibowli, which has been named Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences, has been kept in abeyance. Sources say that the protocols have been changed and TIMS will not take in Covid-19 patients unless Gandhi Hospital is at full capacity.
The hospital was marketed as India’s first Covid-designated treatment centre, yet it has not admitted or treated a single Covid patient till now. Officials claim that the infrastructure and the staff is ready, however basic infrastructure such as the sewage treatment plant in the hospital is yet to be completed. Speaking to Express, a doctor from TIMS, said, “The protocols have been changed for the hospital.
We will be taking in patients only and if Gandhi Hospital’s capacity is full and they do not have any further space. Currently, most of the patients are being treated there, and we aren’t even seeing a surge of cases so Gandhi Hospital can still take in the majority of the patients.” The hospital was previously supposed to cater to patients by the end of April.
“However, TIMS is fully equipped with both staff and medical infrastructure to tackle patients whenever they come in. We have 50 staff nurses, 30 doctors, four pharmacists and four lab technicians. In addition to this, civil works for the permanent facility has been started, along with the recruitment of permanent staff,” he added.
The hospital’s main sewage treatment plant (STP) is yet to be completed as the infrastructure of the sewage facility will be completed along with the adjacent University of Hyderabad’s engineering department. Professor Vinod Pavarala, told Express, “The university Engineering Department have been in touch with engineers from TS Health and HMWS&SB departments. They will initiate action to install a STP of 300kld capacity for the Covid-19 hospital within a couple of weeks. The HMWS&SB staff will collect samples of sewage water from UoH for testing frequently.”