Coronavirus Care Centre established at RIU

Rawalpindi: The Punjab health department has established a Coronavirus Care Centre here at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology in town for treatment and management of suspected and confirmed patients of illness caused by novel coronavirus.

Earlier the provincial government has developed a quarantine facility at RIU while designated Benazir Bhutto Hospital as the specialized healthcare facility to deal with coronavirus cases in northern part of the province.

The coronavirus care centre being established at RIU has started functioning with 50-beds arrangement while another 50 beds would be arranged within next 48 hours, said Medical Superintendent at RIU Dr. Khalid Randhawa who was on duty on Sunday along with the staff arranged for care centre.

He added the Punjab health department has decided to establish CCC at the under construction RIU that is not operational on the subject of receiving any kind of ordinary patients so that the suspects and confirmed patients of coronavirus if reported can be kept in complete isolation without getting intermingled with other patients reaching the three allied hospitals in town.

He, however, added the Punjab health department, allied hospitals and city district administration are stakeholders and would work in close coordination at RIU to accommodate all types of patients related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The CCC would accommodate persons needing quarantine, suspected patients and confirmed patients along with those requiring intensive care, he said.

The Punjab government has provided as many as 20 ventilators to the CCC in just 24 hours as has been promised and the centre has been made functional, he said. He said the RIU has already arranged sufficient staff to deal with coronavirus patients.

The coronavirus care centre at RIU would operate round the clock and the set-up would be divided into sections, he said. The persons needing quarantine are kept under observation while suspects are kept in isolation rooms, said Dr. Randhawa.