Under the care of IAS officer Rubal Agarwal, Additional Municipal Commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the smart city has come up with the first Covid Centre for children in the nation.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, the officer talked about the center and her ideas to beat the third Covid wave.
COVID CENTER FOR CHILDREN
Ms. Agarwal planned on creating a Covid center specifically dedicated to little children and their parents since they usually get admitted together.
“If a child is infected, there are grave chances of their parents being infected too. Therefore we have made the center with 100 beds for children and 200 beds for their parents,” says Ms. Agarwal.
The center is packed with facilities such as warm water, a play area for kids, toys, etc. The entire center is sanitized thrice a day therefore the chance of children’s infection becoming worse stays pretty low. For entire families infected with Covid, the center has special family rooms that can accommodate parents and their children. They have also arranged 10 oxygen beds and concentrators for emergencies.
The center is a huge success and has already discharged four children after their full recovery. It was inaugurated by the Deputy CM and several NGOs are also involved in its operation.
“PMC is providing the centers with medicines, essentials, pharmacy, and doctors. They are even looking after the laboratories. An NGO is providing them food and the local corporators have also chipped in. This is how we get the entire funding. It is a unique model which is not only government-run but involves numerous organizations and is at par with private facilities,” she told Indian Masterminds.
PREPARING FOR THIRD WAVE
Sizing up the situation of the country, Pune Municipal Corporation has already started preparing for the third Covid wave beforehand, so they are ready to face the danger as and when it knocks on their doors.
“We have established 150 oxygen beds, 15 NICU (newborn intensive care unit) beds for children up to 1-year-old, 20 PICU (Pediatric intensive care unit) for up to 14-year-olds, and 20 ICU and ventilators for 14-18-year-olds and their parents,” Ms. Agarwal told Indian Masterminds.
Furthermore, the officer is setting up two oxygen generator plants and installing 13 kilo-liter liquefied oxygen tanks in the city.
“It will be completed within the next two months. This is our vision to not just stop there but also develop Dedicated Covid Hospitals for Pediatric. This will be beneficial to us in the long run and will help us in fighting the third wave efficiently,” stated the 2008 batch IAS officer.
CURRENT COVID CONDITION IN THE CITY
Currently, Pune has a 5% Covid rate with a bed occupancy of 20%. The recovery rate is a whopping 97.5%. Hospitalization is at a low rate and positive cases have dropped down to 1000 from 9000 people.
Moreover, the officer is making sure to hold monthly meetings with Pune’s pediatric surgeons and pediatric medical association, wherein they discuss and layout SOPs for the third wave and how to deal with them.
“Looking at the possibility of a third wave, we are discussing the requirements of pediatric faculty and have started procuring the equipment and necessary material required for treatment,” Ms. Agarwal told Indian Masterminds.
Pune Municipal Corporation and Ms. Rubal Agarwal’s vision of getting ready to fight the third wave before it hits the nation is already proving beneficial for the smart city.
