“Seeing the suffering in my own family, I had no option but to set this facility up. It is high time we become selfless. No matter how much money or power you possess, this pandemic can affect you,” says Vishal Singh.
Vishal Singh, a 42-year-old man who could not find a hospital bed for his Covid positive father has set an example by creating a Covid care facility for covid patients. Vishal is the resident of Sahara Grace condominiums in Sector 28, Gurugram. He owns a chain of private schools called Indus Valley Public School in Delhi-NCR and two Delhi Public Schools in Uttar Pradesh.
A few days back, his father who is nearing 80 was suffering from Covid 19. Despite all the resources like money and contacts in top hospitals, he was unable to find a bed for his father. However, after lots of efforts, he managed to arrange all the required facilities in the home itself.
Witnessing his father’s pain, Vishal decided to set up a covid care facility in the area.
Vishal said, “Despite having all the resources in hand and having contacts in different private hospitals, my father couldn’t access a hospital bed or oxygen. Instead of waiting for any response by hospitals, we arranged everything my father needed for a home quarantine, and thankfully he’s doing much better now.”
While sharing his experience, Vishal mentioned this time as an extremely difficult moment for him and his family. “A couple of days back, as I was going on my morning stroll, I saw a series of emails being exchanged by members of my residential society about setting up a covid19 care facility inside the complex,” Vishal added.
Setting up a Covid19 care facility in the residential complex is a bit complicated because of two reasons. One reason is high cost and another is the unwillingness of other residents to take on the responsibility. Following this Vishal decided to reach out to General VK Narula and Dr. Nagra. VK Narula is the president of the Residents Welfare Association and Dr. Nagra is a retired doctor associated with Manipal Hospital. On a meeting with General VK Narula, Dr. Nagra, and residents of the Sahara Grace, Vishal Singh proposed to foot the bill for the facility.
“I was willing to give up my apartment to set up this facility. There is also a massive clubhouse in our society which has basic infrastructure like washrooms and air conditioning attached to it. Around 60 residents out of 200 were Covid positive in our society. There was no time for debates. Even privileged men with high-end apartment s are finding it hard to get medical treatment. The shortage of beds and oxygen has affected everyone,” said Vishal Singh.
The Covid care facility is equipped with beds, stools, cabinets, oximeters, suction machines, oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, masks, PPE kits, saline water, etc.
It took Vishal and his coordinators two days to set up the relief center. Vishal himself spent Rs 20 lakh. The facility does not admit people who are self quarantined and are having healthy oxygen levels. Priority is given to patients with blood oxygen levels lower than 90%.
The health care facility is guided by Dr. Nagra and constitutes of two experienced nurses, three housekeeping staff, and two other doctors from the society.
Vishal Singh says, “Seeing the suffering in my own family, I had no option but to set this facility up. It is high time we become selfless. No matter how much money or power you possess, this pandemic can affect you.”