State-of-the-art unit

It is Deputy Director Dr. Upuli Wijemanne who details all the facilities that the Kalubowila Hospital’s glass-panelled, fully-fledged HDU will offer beleaguered patients rushed here. Twenty beds – 3 each in two partitioned sections and 14 beds in a ward-type area, a central monitoring section where the staff will be stationed when not on ward-rounds or attending to patients at their bedsides. Each bed has all the equipment close at hand including multi-para monitors. There are also portable X-ray machines and scanners. The other facilities include four bathrooms of patients and 2 rest rooms for doctors, 2 for nurses and 1 for minor staff. A small pantry to make any special food needed by the patients. A unique feature is a conference room where the kith and kin of patients can meet the doctors to get an update. Equipped with a TV, there is also a small lobby where relatives can relax after coming from far away. Fully air- conditioned with a central unit with negative pressure, there are also 7 split-ACs in the HDU, as well as hot water.

Wall oxygen which can be delivered to patients through high-flow oxygen machines as well as non-invasive ventilation (NIV) through face masks.

The whole HDU has negative pressure to protect healthcare staff from exposure to the virus from aerosol-generating procedures.

The floor tiles are of a special variety to prevent the accumulation of germs.

A strip of garden by the HDU is to be landscaped with grass for patients to draw solace and comfort from this greening.

“We have installed pipelines for ventilators so that these beds can be upgraded to those in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). There is also one bed dedicated for a patient who needs dialysis,” says Dr. Wijemanne, adding that whenever the need for COVID-19 treatment wanes, this HDU can easily be converted into a medical ICU.