No Child's Play: What Hospitals Can Do If Third Wave Of Covid-19 Strikes

Those under the age of 18 constitute nearly 41% of India’s population. Several studies have raised the concern that if a third Covid-19 wave were to happen, it may affect them more.

- Durgesh Nandan Jha

New Delhi:

The World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Emergency and Trauma (WHO-CCET) of Southeast Asia has formed a committee of experts to develop a toolkit that can be used by hospitals in India to deal with a potential crisis, in case it occurs.

According to the toolkit, published in the Journal of Emergency Surgery, Trauma and Shock, 57 million children might be at risk of getting affected if a third wave hits the country.

To treat them, the toolkit suggests, resources to cater to 5.7 million hospital admissions and 2.8 million ICU patients need to be readied. It recommends that hospitals should have well-defined areas before a surge in patient volume in the form of the triage or screening area, paediatric ICUs, high dependency units and step-down wards.

“Ideally, all beds should have the capability to deliver oxygen. The use of adult beds may be considered. The beds should be set at the lowest possible height from the floor and electronic controls should be done away with,” suggest the experts.