Telemedicine facilities introduced, service to be operational 24x7 - separate arrangement for hill areas

MP | 2 July 2020 | Kolkata: State Health department has officially introduced telemedicine facilities in the state under which any patient with Covid symptoms and non-Covid patients can consult doctors by calling at a number.  (KalimNews-  An unconfirmed source stated that there will be a separate arrangement for the hill people.)

The department has set up a call centre and floated a number — 033-2357-6001 on Wednesday. The number will remain operational 24x7 where 12 doctors will be available in the initial stages. Patients from across the state can call on this centralised number for getting advice from the doctors. 

One of the main purposes of this initiative of the government is to ensure that people with mild ailments, especially from the distant districts, can get treatment without visiting the hospitals. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the new facility on Monday and she said the idea would be kicked off from July 1 on Doctors' Day. 

After the Chief Minister's instruction, the Health department officials have chalked out an elaborate plan on how to implement the new scheme. It has been decided that call centres would be set up in the district levels. In the initial phases, there would be one centralised number where patients can make calls and seek advice. 

According to a health official, as many as 12 patients can make calls on this number at a time. During night hours, the doctors will work in shifts while in day time, all the 12 doctors will be available to interact with the patients. When all the 12 patients are occupied in conversation with the doctors, no other patient will be able to make any call. 

After a patient disconnects the call, another patient can reach out to the doctor. More numbers will soon be floated in the district levels. "After the number was made operational on Wednesday, many patients from the city and the districts called on this number to get various health tips. 

A majority of the people in the state are scared as the pandemic has already triggered a panic across the country. Some are even trying to avoid visiting hospitals. The telemedicine concept will be further strengthened and more infrastructure would be set up in the near future," a health official added.  

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/telemedicine-facilities-introduced-service-to-be-operational-24x7-411683