Helpdesks at 8 COVID hospitals update health status of patients to their kin, make 10K+ calls in 5 days

Bhubaneswar: In order to make the kin of COVID-affected remain de-stressed and informed about the daily health status of the patients, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up eight help desks at all the dedicated COVID hospitals (DCH) across the State Capital. During the last five days ending May 23, the helpdesk executives have made 10,471 calls as they started functioning on May 18.

The helpdesks at DCHs are working in two shifts i.e. morning 8 am to afternoon 2 pm and afternoon 2 pm to evening 8 pm. In a nutshell, the helpdesks are like a bridge between the patients, the treating hospitals, kin of the COVID-affected and the Civic authorities.

Each helpdesk shift is led by a doctor provided by BMC. The doctors guide the helpdesk executives in deciphering the health status data provided by the hospitals so that the latter can explain the kin of the COVID patients in a better way.

While four helpdesk executives are working in each shift at SUM, Hi-Tech and KIMS COVID Hospitals along with a doctor, two executives in each shift are working along with a doctor at Aditya Ashwini, Blue Wheel, Neelachal COVID, SparshKantabada and KIDS COVID Hospitals, respectively. At present 16 doctors and 44 helpdesk executives are deployed and the number may go up depending on the requirements.

Managed, monitored and coordinated by the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), each of the helpdesk executive is given a Smart Phone and SIM card for the communication purpose and making and answering calls to the patients’ kin.

BMC Commissioner and CEO BSCL Sri Sanjay Kumar Singh said “we always want an effective information dissemination on the health status of the patients admitted at the DCHs. The helpdesk executives could create a nice link between the family members and the COVID hospitals across the city during this difficult time.’’

Sanhati Pradhan, wife of Yudhisthir Pradhan, said “my husband was unwell and due to some difficulty in getting an inhaler he was facing problem. However, through the help desk at KIMS COVID Hospital the issue was resolved within no time and my husband is doing fine now. Currently, his oxygen saturation level is 96 and I am directly in touch with my husband. The hospital helpdesk is doing a good job in coordinating things with the kin, patient and the hospital.’’

Pinky Sahoo, the wife of another patient Ranjan Kumar Sahoo, said “as my husband is admitted to Hi-Tech COVID Hospital and me and my two kids all positive are staying in home isolation, getting information on his health has become very vital. Thanks to the new initiative, the help desk executives are calling me and updating on the treatment process and the status.’’

In order to ensure time-bound information delivery through the eight helpdesks, BSCL officials are coordinating with the teams at different DCHs. The teams at the respective helpdesks have to call the kin of COVID patients at least two times in a day to keep them informed about the health conditions of the patients.

The DCHs concerned provide the data of the patients after the rounds by treating doctors in their respective wards. The kin of the patients first get a call from a helpdesk and then through that designated helpdesk number, the information dissemination takes place in a two-way mode till the patient stays in the health-care facility.