Darj dist may use 500 quacks for rural belt Covid-19 care

SANKHA GHOSH, SNS, SILIGURI, 19 MAY 2021: Around 500 quacks are likely to he engaged for Covid care in rural areas of Darjeeling district. The quacks or untrained medical practitioners will provide primary treatment to Covid -19 patients.

The state government has decided to engage 2,75,000 quacks as- Swasthya Suraksha Bondhu across the state in view of the raging second wave of Covid-19.

"There are around 500 such untrained health practitioners in the district. They are undergoing a three-day orientation on primary treatment of Covid-19. After this, they will be deputed in the rural areas initially," said the Darjeeling district chief medical officer of health, Dr Pralay Acharya.

Dr Acharya said they will be engaged in monitoring the patients under home isolation, making people aware with accredited social health activists during the house to-house visits on the importance of consulting doctors if they develop symptoms. People will also be advised to not hide the symptoms and undergo Covid tests if necessary.

Many people are ignoring or suppressing symptoms until they become severe, said some health workers associated with surveys. There is a tendency to ignore symptoms without realising that such an attitude could lead to a serious health condition, the health experts have warned.

The activists visit houses to identity patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Influenza-like Illness and also spread awareness about Covid-19.

Health department officials said the decision to bring the quacks on board was significant against the backdrop of the sharp increase in Covid cases in rural areas. With the increase in the daily count of Covid-19 cases, the rural areas are also witnessing a peak, especially the four rural blocks in the Plains in the district. Among the worst-hit blocks is Matigara, which has counted 813 cases in the last one week (between 11 and 18 May), and Naxalbari with 437 cases during the same period.

Health department officials said the quacks had been imparted training on how to handle a Covid-19 patient after identification, and the process of contact tracing.

According to some public health specialists, as the state was short of doctors and rural areas often lack them, the move may help in surveillance and containment of the virus.

According to the chief medical officer of health, Dr Pralay Acharya, the quacks will be engaged in monitoring the patients under home isolation, making people aware, along with accredited social health activists, during the house-to-house visits on the importance of consulting doctors if they develop symptoms.