With hospitals, medical staff, Western Command steps up assistance for civilians

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 8

With a spike in coronavirus cases, the Army's Chandimandir-based Western Command has stepped up assistance to civilian authorities in combating the pandemic.

They set up additional hospitals, and contributed medical staff to civilian hospitals, and restating oxygen generating plants.

About three 100-bed COVID hospitals at Chandigarh, Patiala, and Faridabad have been set up. This will accommodate 100 mild to moderate symptomatic civilian patients.

The hospitals will be inaugurated on May 10, said a spokesperson of Western Command on Saturday.

The Army temporarily moved its field hospitals from different places in the region to set up the COVID-hospitals at the request of the state governments. It is also providing manpower, medical supplies and equipment for them.

Apart from contributing 108 doctors, 14 nursing officers and 205 paramedics in various hospitals set up by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Western Command has also provided 33 paramedics to Government Rajendra Hospital at Patiala, SVBP Hospital at Delhi.

Another 100 paramedics will be deployed shortly at various other locations.

Further, to tide over the oxygen shortage in the region, a dedicated team from the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers are working round the clock to resuscitate the oxygen generation plant of the Bhakra Beas Management Board at Nangal.

The Army is also examining the feasibility of reviving more oxygen plants located in the region.

Recently, during a virtual meet between Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, and Lt Gen RP Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, the Chief Minister shared his concerns on the rising trend in the fresh infections, especially in the major cities of Punjab, and had sought for assistance of Western Command to manage the COVID crisis in terms of setting up Military COVID Field Hospitals, provisioning of paramedics and technical assistance to revive the disused oxygen plants in the state.

The Western Command, which has its footprints in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, had assured the civilian administration of all possible assistance within the institutional capacity of Western Command to help manage the crisis.

To overcome the shortage of ambulances with the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, Western Command, on Saturday, also provided eight service ambulances from its resources to polyclinics across the National Capital Region for use by veterans.