New Guidelines On Treatment Of Long-Term Health Conditions Post Covid

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday released guidelines on the treatment of sequelae of COVID-19 which will help in building the capacity of doctors, nurses, paramedics and community health workers across India to deal with long-term effects of the coronavirus infection. The minister said that the modules have been prepared to provide guidance to doctors and healthcare workers to deal with the issue of long-term effects of COVID-19, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Also Read: COVID-19 Has Caused One Of The Biggest Increases In World Hunger, Malnutrition In Decades: United Nations

He said that proactive and comprehensive treatment of COVID-19 is required to ensure minimum side effects and no negative effect of the treatment.

We have witnessed the consequences of post-Covid effect in patients due to taking higher doses of steroids like cases of Mucormycosis. It is important to take medicines, with less or negligible side effects. If we are alert beforehand, it will be fruitful in tackling the future consequences of Covid, he was quoted as saying in the statement.

“The perceptions related to post-Covid that are perpetuating in our society like fears, mental health issues resulting due to Covid are important to be tackled. So, it’s important to understand these post-Covid issues and resolve them,” Mr Mandaviya stated.

Efforts have been made by the resource persons across the country for the management of these post-COVID-19 complications to prepare the sequelae modules. These are very specialised modules prepared keeping in mind various fields of healthcare professionals, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar emphasised on the need to tackle mental health issues and to reach the last mile, the statement said.

This pandemic has put an unprecedented challenge on our health and healthcare system. Mental health care is a big challenge for a country with such a large population. We need to build our capacity to tackle this challenge of mental health, Mr Pawar was quoted as saying in the statement.

If the frontline workers are equipped with proper knowledge and training, they can become a valuable resource in the fight against these post-COVID-19 challenges.

When we are trying to equip ourselves to fight against post-Covid consequences, it’s also important to take these to the last mile. The training modules for mental health and other issues have been prepared based on the needs expressed by state health experts, she said, adding that all should work together to ensure that COVID-19 becomes the last human pandemic.

Also Read: Union Health Ministry Issues Guidelines For COVID Vaccination At Home For People With Special Needs

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. 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 will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that 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 the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.