The Community Of Madrid Converts The Ifema Fairground Into The Largest 'Hospital' In Spain

Image Courtesy of IFEMA

This week IFEMA should have welcomed FESPA, but over the weekend, The Fairgrounds of Ifema, have been converted into the largest 'hospital' in Spain in the fight against coronavirus.

In total, 3,000 beds are installed , both conventional and UCI, and the number is expected to reach 5,500

IFEMA  already welcomed a hundred patients from the Community of Madrid, the region most affected by the pandemic with more than a thousand deaths and about 10,000 contagions.

Patients, all of which are mild, have been placed in ward number 5 of the compound, where 200 conventional beds have been provisionally installed, although it is expected to reach 300 in the next few hours.

Through Twitter, the Madrid Administration has indicated that it needs healthcare personnel to meet the needs of the hospital installed in Ifema to care for patients affected by coronavirus.

"The separation between conventional beds is three meters, a distance with considerable slack so that, if necessary, to be able to expand from 50 beds in each module to 82; a measure that could not be applied in the case of ICU, which must keep that distance implemented as a measure of maximum safety," says José Pérez Blanco, construction coordinator of this temporary health center, the size of which is comparable to that of two hospitals together.”

The modules, built identical to each other so that the same training received in one will serve the rest, are separated by screens to also enable several corridors for the proper transit of healthcare personnel. In the center of the pavilion will be installed containers of baths and portable showers.

In Ward 7 the work is being similar, with the only difference that in this have been created eleven modules with 50 conventional hospitalization beds each (550 in total), and two modules for ICU with 32 beds in total (16 per module).

The installation of liquid oxygen deposits and distribution pipes under the two pavilions has also begun, a vital job in providing respiratory assistance to all those affected by the virus. "The plan envisages reaching 3,000 beds, which could be up to 5,500 if necessary"

In the event that the situation reaches overflow, the plan envisages having two more pavilions (1 and 3) to expand the sanitary spaces and increase the number of beds to 3,000 in a first scenario, and, if the situation required, to reach 5,500 in Total.