New Delhi: As the mercury soared and Delhi officially recorded its first heatwave day this past Saturday, hitting  42.8 degrees Celsius,  a full 5.1 degrees Celsius above the seasonal norm, hospitals across the Capital are once again on high alert. With the searing memories of the severe and prolonged heatwaves of 2024 and 2025 still fresh, medical institutions are not just reflecting on past responses but are actively bolstering their defences for what promises to be another challenging summer.

The frontline of this medical preparation includes prominent names like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, Lok Nayak Hospital (LNH), and Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital. These institutions have reactivated and expanded their emergency infrastructure, deploying dedicated heatstroke wards, establishing helplines, and refining rapid response systems to manage the anticipated surge in heat-related ailments.

Leading this comprehensive readiness is the Centre-run RML Hospital, strategically located near the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It has recommissioned its highly specialised heatwave clinic, a “heat-stroke room” designed for swift and life-saving interventions.

This specialised unit is equipped with a comprehensive arsenal designed for rapid patient cooling and critical care. Among its key features are ceramic immersion tubs, a high-capacity 250 kg ice-making refrigerator to ensure a constant supply, precision rectal thermometers, ice boxes, ventilator-supported beds for severe cases, and an inflatable cooling tub for immediate emergency response. The hospital also boasts a Mobile Heat Stroke Response system, aimed at providing crucial pre-hospital care.

Dr Ajay Chauhan, the physician in charge of RML’s heatstroke unit, elaborated on the critical nature of their work. “When a patient suffers a heatstroke, the body loses its natural capacity to cool down the temperature, which can very soon turn life-threatening due to organ failure,” he explained to Hindustan Times. “This is why the immediate response is to provide cooling therapy to the patient.”

Dr Chauhan emphasised that this vital therapy can commence even when a patient is merely exhibiting symptoms of heat exhaustion, such as a significant rise in body temperature and dizziness.

The hospital’s cornerstone cooling strategy involves an immersion cooling tub, meticulously filled with approximately 50 kilograms of ice and maintained at a chilling 1 degrees Celsius to 3 degrees Celsius. Patients are gently submerged for around 25 minutes, a method designed to rapidly and effectively reduce core body temperature. To sustain this intensive treatment, RML Hospital has invested in its own ice manufacturing unit, guaranteeing an uninterrupted supply throughout the demanding summer months.