NET News Desk

Chief Minister Pema Khandu today inspected the State’s first exclusively Dedicated COVID Hospital, established as an extension of the Naharlagun based TomoRiba Institute of Health & Medical Science (TRIHMS) at the MLA Apartments here at Chimpu. His visit also marked the commencement of the hospital’s services.

Khandu was accompanied by State Legislative Assembly Speaker P D Sona, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and Health Minister Alo Libang.

Interacting with the doctors, health officials and staff of the hospital, Khandu lauded their zeal and dedication in getting ready the facility in a record time of two weeks.

Expressing satisfaction that the hospital is all set to receive COVID-Positive patients, Khandu, however, prayed that the hospital remains patient-less for as long as possible.

“We are thankful to the dedication of all frontline workers including police and the administration that today we are far better placed than many of the states in controlling the virus. We should take heart in the fact that though everyday positive cases are detected, more number of people are also being cured,” he said.

Khandu observed that, with the scenic and state-of-the-art infrastructure coupled with all modern equipment and system in place required for treating COVID Positive patients, Arunachal Pradesh can claim to have one of the best facilities to deal with the pandemic in the North East.

He asserted that lockdowns, despite being harsh, had to be implemented to make time for such facilities to come up.

“ICU facilities with ventilators have also reached the districts. And whatever the health experts require, we assure to provide. In fact, today we are ready,” the Chief Minister said.

Reiterating that the pandemic made the government analyze the gaps in the health sector, he said the government has decided to make it the top priority sector and spend about Rs 400 Cr on it in the next two years. While informing that shortage of doctors and nurses is being tackled by way of recruitment, he announced that nurses working under NHM will be regularized in a phased manner.

When informed that the newly established hospital lacks a CT Scan facility, Khandu assured that it will be taken care of.

Mein and Libang too lauded the efforts put in by the health department, TRIHMS, the district administration and police in making the hospital see the light of day. It may be noted that local residents had objected to the proposal for turning the MLA Apartments into a COVID Hospital, which was subsequently resolved through several sessions of dialogue headed by Home Minister Bamang Felix, Capital Deputy Commissioner KomkarDulom, TRIHMS Director Dr Moji Jini and SP Tumme Amo.

The all-set COVID hospital at the moment has a 10-bedded ICU with monitors, suction apparatus, ventilators, etc, 16-bedded male and 16-bedded female wards, a fully equipped Operation Theater, Labour Room, Neonatal ICU, a 2-bedded Dialysis Unit, X Ray, Ultra-Sound and a full-fledged Laboratory.

Meanwhile, Dr Jini informed that tomorrow morning the entire hospital complex would be sanitized and if possible all the COVID Positive symptomatic patients currently at TRIHMS would be shifted by late afternoon.

“In any case, this hospital will be fully functional from Wednesday with our doctors staying in the complex 24X7,” he added.