Highlights
- Swasth, health consortium to provide 10-day care package for COVID patients
- 10-day care package will include periodic check-ins by doctors
- It will also offer daily monitoring of patients by healthcare professionals
Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Department said that it has engaged Swasth, a health consortium to provide remote home isolation monitoring services to asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic COVID patients in the state. The Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare Services issued a work order on July 17 for Swasth to work with the state to implement a 10-day care package through service providers for patients isolating at home for an initial period of one month. This package will include daily monitoring of patients by healthcare professionals, and periodic check-ins by doctors.
This package will also feature the provision of home healthcare and safety guidelines to patients and caregivers, as well as linkages to emergency support in case of escalation of symptoms. State health authorities will inspect patients’ homes to ensure their consent and check that it is feasible to enrol them to the home isolation program; they must have the infrastructure and 24/7 caregiver support.
Commissioner, Department of Health and Family Welfare Pankaj Kumar Pandey had conducted a meeting on July 16 with Swasth to discuss its proposal for implementing a system to monitor home isolation for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic COVID patients.
As more patients with non-serious COVID-19 symptoms are being advised to isolate at home to ensure the availability of beds and resources for severely-ill patients, the system is intended to prevent the spread of the disease and ensure adequate care for patients in home isolation, the department said.
They will upload patient details and medical history to the Swasth platform. Swasth will then forward these patient details to service providers who will ‘onboard’ the patient, allocate a nurse/healthcare professional and doctor to the patient and orient the patient and caregiver on safety measures to maintain for the patient and family during the home isolation period.
If the person’s condition worsens, he/she can get in touch with an emergency contact provided, and be connected with the doctor. The doctor may recommend a patient call the 108 ambulance service or redirect them to government services. The service provider will follow up until the person has reached the health facility, and if there is a delay of more than two hours, the matter shall be escalated to a designated government official.
The patient shall be discharged at the end of the 10-day isolation period if he/she has no fever for three days, no symptoms and maintains an oxygen saturation level above 95 per cent. If the person’s symptoms persist, they may be advised to maintain home isolation for an additional three days.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
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