Bhubaneswar: Keeping in view the rising cases of COVID in the city, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has requested all COVID Care Centres and hospitals to ensure timely attendance of its doctors and establish a mechanism to monitor the same.
In a letter to all COVID Care Centres (CCC) and Dedicated COVID Hospitals (DCH), the civic authority urged that a mechanism be set up to ensure the timely presence of doctors and paramedics for effective treatment of patients.
The BMC also said that such planning will help in timely shifting of patients more often in a day.
“The mere presence of a doctor near the patient has a great psychological advantage and, hence, it is essential that doctors should visit patients more often daily to ascertain the health condition of a patient. This will also help in shifting patients from general to ICU wards and decrease the mortality rate,” the letter said.
“It, therefore, needs strict monitoring of the attendance of the doctors and paramedics. This will enable the BMC to obtain daily/weekly advanced duty schedule for cross-checking. It is further suggested that surprise checks be conducted at least twice a week half-an-hour before and after shift change,” the letter added.
Stating that there are limitations of Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs) visiting the COVID wards, the civic authority has asked the CCCs and DCHs to install CCTVs in hospital buildings, wards and corridors to ascertain the movement of doctors in the wards.
The backup of the CCTV footage should be kept further verification, the letter said.
More doctors to tackle mental health calls
With a large number of mental cases being identified on daily basis, the civic authority here stated that it may increase the number of doctors keeping in mind the mental health challenges faced by the patients during the quarantine period.
Doctors deputed at 1929 Call Centre of Bhubaneswar Operations Centre are involved in helping people fight mental stress of COVID-19 in a better way. As per sources, patients fearful of being admitted to a COVID hospital are now more confident and prefer to stay under home isolation after proper counselling.
“Currently, two doctors have been assigned per shift to take calls at the 1929 Call Centre and gradually the number will be increased depending on the call load,’’ said BMC Additional Commissioner Parul Patawari.
Meanwhile, explaining the anxiety and stress of the COVID-19 positive patients, a doctor, Gopal Krushna said that majority of the callers assume that if one is found COVID positive, he/she needs to be hospitalised and there is no way out. “However, we talk to people and build their confidence levels. Many are now following our advice with a positive attitude and opting for home quarantine.”