Muscat, September 21 (ONA) - Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal al Busaidi, Minister of Interior — Chairman of the Supreme Committee tasked with tackling developments resulting from Coronavirus (Covid-19), and members of the committee on Monday went on tour of the Covid-19 Field Hospital set up at the premises of old Muscat International Airport.
Sayyid Hamoud and the panel members inspected equipment of the hospital and its different components and they listened to a detailed account about ways to deal with Covid-19 patients.
Dr Mohammed bin Saif al Hosani, Health Affairs Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Health, hoped that the field hospital will begin its tasks by the end of September or early October, pointing out that the number of hospital beds reaches 312.
In a press statement, Dr Mohammed said that the hospital will start functioning with 100 beds, noting that the facility includes a shelter furnished with 23-24 beds. If deemed necessary, the facility will be converted into a standard hospital.
Dr Mohammed explained that the hospital, now under construction, is dedicated to Covid-19 patients to ease pressure on referral hospitals of Muscat Governorate and to absorb the numbers that may come to it from hospitals in other nearby governorates.
The field hospital will not directly receive Covid-19 patients, but patients whose condition calls for admission will be transferred here, only for medium-level care. Serious cases that may develop at the field hospital will be transferred to referral hospitals by ambulance, Dr Mohammed added.
Dr Mohammed expressed his hope that the various health services of the hospitals would return to what they were before the pandemic, indicating that the field hospital for "Covid 19" patients would be one of the assistive tools in that, pointing out that the Ministry of Health is in touch with Covid-19 vaccine producing companies, which expressed their willingness to supply the Sultanate with globally-licensed vaccines, but, he explained, “None of them are available so far. We hope to receive 20 per cent of the needs of the Sultanate’s population by the end of this year.”
Dr Mohammed Al Hosani explained that the Ministry of Health’s plan in using the vaccine is based on priority so that front line health workers and personnel of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) and Royal Oman Police (ROP) will be the first to receive the vaccine. He pointed out that the Sultanate joined the Global Alliance of Vaccines which will provide the Sultanate 10 per cent of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of 2020 while the other 10 per cent will be collected from other producing firms.
Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Khanji, Development Adviser in the Office of the Minister of Health, General Supervisor of equipping the field hospital for COVID-19 patients, affirmed that the importance of equipping this hospital is evidenced by the increase in the number of cases registered in the Sultanate and to ensure the return of hospitals that have patients with Covid 19 to provide permanent natural services.
In a statement, Al-Khanji said that the field hospital will cover the governorates of Muscat, North and South Al-Batinah, North and South Al-Dakhiliyah, and the coverage can be expanded further to reach Buraimi Governorate and the Wilayat of Ibri.
The field hospital will operate with a team from Health Ministry consisting of 30 doctors, 115 nurses, 7 technicians, 7 assistant pharmacists and 7 ex-ray technicians. The adjoining shelter is set up on an area of 10,000 square metres with capacity to accommodate 384 beds.
He indicated that the medical, nursing and assistant staff in the field hospital are among the employees of the Ministry of Health, among them doctors who have recently graduated in various specialties, indicating that the hospital has a laboratory, a pharmacy, and 312 beds, of which 35 are designated as women's wards, 13 beds for intensive care, and a department that includes a shelter centre.
Eng. Abdul Amir Al Ajmi, Executive Director for External Affairs and Value Creation at the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) said, “PDO praised the role of the Supreme Committee and it is eagerness to collaborate with the committee in public interest.”
He added, “The company's contribution came at the request of the Supreme Committee, as the company fully supervised the provision of the field hospital with beds, medical equipment and logistical support in cooperation with Carillion Alawi Company,” indicating that a large part of the contribution came through the support of the company's employees through a campaign that lasted for 3 months and the company added a similar amount.”
The aim of establishing the field hospital for Covid 19 patients is to ease pressure on the Sultanate's hospitals, to restore basic services that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, in addition to removing risks from hospital health workers and changing the general atmosphere for patients during the admission period.
The hospital, which was built on an area of 6,100 square meters, consists of several departments, including an admission bed for mild and moderate cases, a temporary care department, a pharmacy, a medical laboratory, and a radiology department.
The field hospital will operate with a team from Health Ministry consisting of 30 doctors, 115 nurses, 7 technicians, 7 assistant pharmacists and 7 ex-ray technicians. It initially covers the governorates of Muscat, North and South Al Batinah, Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate, and North Sharqiyah Governorate, and will include the rest of the governorates if needed in the future.
The adjoining shelter is set up on an area of 10,000 square metres with capacity to accommodate 384 beds.
The facility’s establishment is a fruitful outcome of cooperation between government and private parties, including the Ministry of Health, the Civil Aviation Authority, Oman Airport Company, Petroleum Development Oman, Royal Court Affairs, Royal Oman Police and other parties concerned.
(ONA)