The 10 000 beds Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital in Chhatarpur in south Delhi was established last year jointly by the central and Delhi governments and managed by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP). In this public-private partnership, the land in south Delhi was provided by the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a spiritual not-for-profit organisation.
The centre was closed down in the last week of February 2021 following a fall in the demand for beds with a decline in COVID-19 cases, but when cases climbed again in March, it was reopened with 500 beds on 26 April 2021.
In continuation of the WHO Country Office support provided last year to strengthen the capacity of the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Covid Care Centre and Hospital, the ITBP requested WHO for assessment support and trainings for staff in infection prevention and control (IPC) – including hand hygiene, masking/personal protective equipment, biomedical waste management – as well as psychosocial support.
A WCO team with experts from three departments – communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, and health security and emergencies – was formed and they finalised the assessment protocols and trainings jointly with ITBP officers.
The team organised a training on IPC and psychosocial support on 12 May for general duty attendants, housekeeping staff and stress counsellors. The training focused on observance of the 3Ws (wear a mask properly, wash your hands and watch your distance) and standard precautions for safety, including use of personal protective equipment (PPE), environmental cleaning and disinfection, and biomedical waste management.
The training also addressed the need for psychosocial support for patients and health and frontline workers, who worked long hours to look after people with COVID-19.
“WHO had supported Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital last year by organising trainings, assessment and guidance for IPC, which helped strengthen the quality of care and safety for the patients and health care and frontline workers. We reached out for technical support again this year, and WHO supported training of more than 50 staff members, who improved their skills to look after nearly 500 patients admitted here,” said Dr Prashant Mishra, ITBP Commandant Medical, Deputy Medical Superintendent, Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital, New Delhi.
The WHO team also conducted an IPC assessment in key areas of the hospital, including PPE donning/doffing areas, nursing stations, and the ICU. The formal assessment, based on the IPC-assessment tool developed by WHO and partners was shared with ITBP.