Family Members Of Corona Patients In Gandhi Hospital Now Can Know The Progress Of The Patient

Hyderabad: Family members of Covid patients admitted to Gandhi hospital can heave a sigh of relief as authorities have set up a Patient Information Cell to communicate the health condition and progress of patients, especially those in critical condition and getting treated in ICU wards.

As attendants are not being allowed inside Gandhi hospital to be at the bedside of in-patients and take care of them due to infection spread concerns, getting to know any information about patient was a big challenge for the last five months or so.

Mobile phone carried by the patient was the only source through which the patient used to keep in touch with their family members. This was possible if the patient was having moderate symptoms and was getting treated in general ward because he or she was in a condition to speak.

However, the big problem was patients in critical condition in ICU who are put on oxygen support or on ventilators. Family members of such patients used to make several calls on landline numbers to try to reach doctors concerned or administration staff to know about the health condition of their dear ones. While some were lucky to get the info in a few hours others had to make multiple calls throughout the day to get some details.

After feedback from treated patients and family members, Gandhi hospital set up a separate cell for this purpose. Dr Prabhakar, nodal officer, Gandhi hospital, said that the information cell was established with 10 dedicated staff members.

Nearly 500 patients in Gandhi out of the 800 to 1,000 in-patients in the recent times are in critical condition. At times doctors themselves are trying to make video calls themselves to show patient’s condition to their family members.

Also, when family members call up Gandhi landline, the info cell staff will try to pass on required details. Dr Prabhakar further stated that they are making arrangements to arrange a dedicated telephone in each floor of the hospital for quick information dissemination.