Nearly 3,000 patients were provided assistance for treatment and medicines by the Srinagar district administration in Jammu and Kashmir through its helpline amid teh coronavirus-driven lockdown, officials said.
The IVRS-based call centre was inaugurated by Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on April 17 and it replaced a series of helpline numbers launched in March aimed at attending to health emergencies on priority during the lockdown.
A dedicated fleet of 10 vehicles and a team of 12 professionals have been deputed on the job round-the-clock for attending to issues related to health emergencies, demands related to dialysis, chemotherapy, diabetes and other such ailments, the officials said.
Apart from the IVRS call centre, they said four mobile numbers have also been made available.
Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary empanelled 13 dialysis centres across the city for providing dialysis services, the expenses of which are borne by the district administration.
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Most of these centres are working with the administration on a no-profit-no-loss basis while a dedicated transport facility is made available by the administration, the officials said.
"A total of 2,992 patients have been provided assistance ever since the launch of the call centre. These include 890 dialysis cases involving multiple cycles, 1,115 delivered free drugs by nodal officers and 263 patients provided free life-saving drugs, Choudhary said.
He said the number also included 148 patients who were provided transportation from home to hospital and back, 12 injury cases, 51 chemotherapy cases and 181 patients delivered or provided diabetes drugs.
"The initiative aimed at attending to pre-COVID health issues has gained greater response from the public and a large number of patients are availing the services made available. A separate fleet of vehicles has also been made available to select hospitals to provide services to patients in need of transport after discharge, he said.
He said the district administration in its endeavour to reach out to patients in need also included a survey of such requirements along with the ongoing door-to-door health audit and 1,233 cases needing medical attention for health issues were shared with primary healthcare institutions for response.
The daily monitoring system of response to public issues related to emergency healthcare has been put in place to ensure prompt attention, the deputy commissioner said.
He said the nodal officers have been appointed in all the hospitals to attend to these issues.
"Immediately on receipt of a call a ticket is generated on the mobile of nodal office either in the DC office, department or hospital prompting the officer to address and provide service. The ticket is closed after delivery of service and a fixed timeline is allowed, beyond which the matter is flagged to the Deputy Commissioner. This system has ensured a timely and effective response system, he said.
Choudhary said the dedicated dialysis help desk in the call centre has also generated a database of all patients in need of dialysis and other kidney ailments which has been mapped for prompt response by nearest teams.
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