Aug 17
Novel Nursing
Novel Nursing
IF armed soldiers in combat fatigues are securing India’s borders from the enemy, the country’s medical fraternity these days is battling the great pandemic COVID-19 – in some cases without adequate protective gear that can save them from the infection. No wonder, these frontline COVID warriors are falling prey to the virus. Even the doctors and nurses at India’s topmost public medical facility, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, are unable to escape this highly contagious disease.
 
Keeping this in mind, a few days into the pandemic, L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) - a vertical of India’s very own multinational conglomerate - took a unique decision! Under a CSR initiative at Vadodara in Gujarat, it decided to donate Robot Nurses to the largest government hospital there. This was to ensure that while patients afflicted with COVID-19 should get all the necessary medical care on time, the medical staff should not catch the infection. For, if the staff fall ill, this will in turn hit the patient services.
 
After a threadbare evaluation of the available robotic technologies and meticulous research, LTHE decided to make ready Robot Nurses that operate on Simultaneous Localisation & Mapping (SLAM) technology. Finally, on 16 July, LTHE, through a virtual ceremony, handed over three Robot Nurses - Sona 1.5, Sona 2.5, and ELI – to Sir Sayajirao General Hospital at Vadodara. This is the first such CSR initiative in Gujarat.
 
Dr Rajiv N Daveshwar, medical superintendent, SSG Hospital; Mr M Thennarasan, vice chairman & MD of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation; Ms Shalini Agrawal, Collector Vadodara; Mr Pankaj Kamaliya, COO Gujarat CSR Authority, and Mr J C Rawal, District Planning Officer, Vadodara, attended the ceremony. On behalf of L&T, the honours were done by Mr Sudheer P V Nambiar (Head HSE, CSR & Sustainability - LTHE Onshore).
 
These Robot Nurses have many unique features.  They are equipped with spine technology for balancing. They can automatically map an assigned ward and reach the patient, detect obstacles along the route, be fully charged in just 2.5 hours and can perform an 8-9-hour shift on a single recharge. Sona 1.5 and Sona 2.5 can deliver medicine to patients, serve food, and spell out coronavirus awareness messages in Gujarati language.
ELI, on the other hand, is a guard, and will secure the entry gate, perform COVID-19 screening using thermal technology, trigger no-mask alert, record staff attendance and keep a tab on unauthorised entry.
 
Naturally, the Gujarat government officials, especially the management of SSG Hospital, are extremely elated by L&T’s noble gesture. This meaningful intervention will play an important role towards ensuring the safety of the medical staff and increase the vigilance in COVID-19 isolation wards during these trying times.

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