Preparedness for establishing COVID-19 services during acute emergency of COVID-19 pandemic: Experience of a tertiary care TB and respiratory diseases hospital

BACKGROUND: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) calls for setting up of well-equipped and dedicated health facilities to manage sick patients while protecting healthcare workers and the environment. An ideal high-level isolation unit requires a high level of administrative commitment, availability of space, human resource and logistics. METHOD: The experience of setting up COVID-19 care facilities on a noticeably short period in a tertiary TB and respiratory diseases institute in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is being shared here. RESULT: All the essential COVID-19 services were set up in record time of 8 days. A total of 115 COVID-19 patients were admitted. Out of these 89 patients were discharged in a satisfactory condition. There were 19 deaths, and 4 patients became critical and had to be referred to level 3 facility for ICU care. CONCLUSION: This experience will help other hospitals in planning out the strategies and solve the difficulties they may face while opening a COVID-19 care facility under limited resources on an urgent basis.