Up: With 240 beds, COVID facility is now new district hospital in Noida, Health News, ET HealthWorld

Noida: By the end of this week, the city’s dedicated COVID facility in Sector 39 will be back in shape for the purpose it was originally built for the new building of the District Combined Hospital in Noida.

Health officials said on Monday that OPD services will start at the 240-bed hospital in a few days. Already, specialists in mental health and homeopathy, antiretroviral therapy services, and a non-communicable disease (NCD) clinic are functioning in the building.

In the coming days, other departments such as dermatology, ENT and dentistry too will shift to the building. The facility will also have pathology and radiology departments apart from equipment for CT scan and dialysis machines.

Until now, the DCH was functioning at the campus of Post Graduate Institute of Child Health in Sector 30. It was supposed to shift three years back, but the pandemic upended the move, with officials deciding to use the facility for COVID-19 patients only.

Now, with daily COVID cases remaining stable and in low numbers, officials deem it safe to start shifting the hospital to the new building.

“Shifting has started. First the OPD-related health programmes of the government are being shifted, which will be followed by departments like dermatology, ENT, dentistry. Lastly, physicians will be shifted to the new building,” said Dr Pawan Kumar, chief medical superintendent, DCH.

Officials said some departments such as orthopaedics will be moved at the end as they normally have patients admitted for longer treatments.

“Medical devices are costly and sensitive, and require optimum care while being shifted to avoid any damage. Since there are patients admitted in different departments at the existing DCH building, emergency equipment will be taken to the new site gradually. Meanwhile, we are also carrying out regular checks to provide better patient care at the new building,” said Dr Kumar.

The new DCH building will also have 30 dedicated beds in its trauma care unit. There will be six multidisciplinary operation theatres and two C-section OTs.

According to health officials, the new building will also give them space to upgrade the facility in the future with services like a burn ward, trauma centre and cancer OPD.