Care facilities up, but face hurdles galore

Problems persist for RWAs in procuring oxygen cylinders and staffers

Several Residents’ Welfare Associations in the Millennium City have managed to come up with makeshift COVID care facilities after permission from the district administration a week ago. But arranging liquid oxygen and medical and paramedical staffers remain major challenges for them. “I would not call it a COVID care facility, but just an emergency facility to take care of patients till the time they get a hospital bed. We are not treating patients. We have set up three beds in our club. It is a complete setup with oxygen cylinders, concentrators, and a round the clock nurse. We have tied up with a nursing home treating COVID patients for a doctor’s visit in case of an emergency,” said Mamta Yadav, RWA president of The Seven Lamps in Sector 82. Four to five critical patients have been given medical aid at the facility in a week’s time. The RWA has procured its own stock of medicines, PPE kits and oxygen cylinders so that the residents need not run around in case of an emergency. “But the only challenge that remains is getting the oxygen cylinder filled. There is a huge crowd at the filling stations. It is not too safe for people to stand in queues at these stations as they might get infected,” said Ms. Yadav.