Volume : 9, Issue : 7, July - 2020

Retrofitting of existing rooms in Healthcare facilities for creation of Negative Pressure Isolation Room in wake of COVID19 in Resource Constraint settings : A techno- financial analysis.

Dr. Ravinder Ahlawat, Dr. Kanika Jain, Dr. Sai Saran, Dr. Swati Singh

Abstract :

Introduction: Emergence of COVID- 19 has highlighted the gross inadequacy in healthcare in terms of Infrastructure required to provide adequate care to all infected cases. Even the existing hospitals are not adequately equipped with HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system to handle these types of patients. Guidelines recommend that an infected case of COVID-19 has to be housed in a Negative Pressure Isolation Room(NPIR) or air borne infection isolation room (AIIR) . Technical know-how and financial resources are available universally for retrofitting an existing single occupancy room into an NPIR. Simple tests like smoke tests exist for validating the result. The present study aims to address the semantic barrier among the health care managers and to provide them with a cost-effective practical plan for retrofitting a single occupancy room to an NPIR without any external support in the Indian context. Materials & Methods: The present descriptive concurrent study was carried out over a duration of fifteen days at a tertiary care hospital, as a project to study and develop a plan for converting an existing single room to an NPIR for admitting COVID 19 cases with an aim of providing a safer environment to the HCW. The study was conducted with the objective to define the technical requirements in an understandable manner and present a layout of feasible solutions for retrofitting a single occupancy room to an NPIR and ascertain the financial implications of the same. Review of literature and interviews of different stakeholders were conducted for documenting the requirements. The traditional method of Cost Analysis was used to arrive at cost estimates for the Financial Year 2020 – 21. Observation and Result: The negative pressure of 1.25 mm H2O was achieved with the help of an exhaust fan of 300 CFM power after all the windows are sealed using cello tape/micropore and cotton. The total cost of retrofitting ranges between just Rs. 14,725 per room to Rs.21,800 by applying ingenious strategies and locally available resources. ITI qualified masons and electricians can easily achieve the task in hand. Monitoring and validation can be performed in a cost-effective manner within the available and accessible resources with ease. Conclusion: Retrofitting of an existing single room to an NPIR can be achieved with the help of locally available technical and financial resources in a cost-effective manner. Introduction: Emergence of COVID- 19 has highlighted the gross inadequacy in healthcare in terms of Infrastructure required to provide adequate care to all infected cases. Even the existing hospitals are not adequately equipped with HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system to handle these types of patients. Guidelines recommend that an infected case of COVID-19 has to be housed in a Negative Pressure Isolation Room(NPIR) or air borne infection isolation room (AIIR) . Technical know-how and financial resources are available universally for retrofitting an existing single occupancy room into an NPIR. Simple tests like smoke tests exist for validating the result. The present study aims to address the semantic barrier among the health care managers and to provide them with a cost-effective practical plan for retrofitting a single occupancy room to an NPIR without any external support in the Indian context. Materials & Methods: The present descriptive concurrent study was carried out over a duration of fifteen days at a tertiary care hospital, as a project to study and develop a plan for converting an existing single room to an NPIR for admitting COVID 19 cases with an aim of providing a safer environment to the HCW. The study was conducted with the objective to define the technical requirements in an understandable manner and present a layout of feasible solutions for retrofitting a single occupancy room to an NPIR and ascertain the financial implications of the same. Review of literature and interviews of different stakeholders were conducted for documenting the requirements. The traditional method of Cost Analysis was used to arrive at cost estimates for the Financial Year 2020 – 21. Observation and Result: The negative pressure of 1.25 mm H2O was achieved with the help of an exhaust fan of 300 CFM power after all the windows are sealed using cello tape/micropore and cotton. The total cost of retrofitting ranges between just Rs. 14,725 per room to Rs.21,800 by applying ingenious strategies and locally available resources. ITI qualified masons and electricians can easily achieve the task in hand. Monitoring and validation can be performed in a cost-effective manner within the available and accessible resources with ease. Conclusion: Retrofitting of an existing single room to an NPIR can be achieved with the help of locally available technical and financial resources in a cost-effective manner.