AIIMS Delhi team concludes visit to flood-hit Amritsar, opens 24×7 helpline for Punjab
"Punjabi singer Jasbir Jassi helped the visiting unit with the on-ground hospitality and logistics. Jassi spent a day with the team on the ground," Dr Malhi said.
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Water bottles being distributed among flood-affected people, at Talwandi Rai Dadu village of Ajnala, in Amritsar district. (PTI Photo)The two-day visit by a 22-member team from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, comprising physicians, paediatricians, psychiatrists, two surgeons, a radiologist and 11 senior nursing officers, equipped with ICU to ward-level care, to flood-hit areas in Amritsar district ended on Sunday.
The visit will be followed by AIIMS’s special 24×7 telephonic telemedicine line to guide treatment and referrals for people in inundated villages of Punjab, at least for a month.
For two days, all 22 members organised camps at various places and treated two emergency cases.
Talking to The Indian Express, Dr Amrinder Singh Malhi, who led the team, said, “We conducted camps in Ramdas and Ghonewal, after earlier rounds in Bhindi Saidan and Bullarwal near the border. We treated skin infections such as pyoderma and scabies, cellulitis, upper respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, joint pains, and chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes.”
“Among critical cases, a child with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome was stabilised and referred onward. Today, an accidental acid ingestion was managed with immediate gastric lavage on site before transfer to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital with police coordination,” Dr Malhi said.
Dr Malhi said, “Our field visit will conclude today, but from 9 am on Monday, we will roll out a 24×7 telephonic telemedicine service for Punjab’s flood-affected communities, mirroring our remote-care protocols during the pandemic. We will guide treatment and coordinate referrals to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, PGI or AIIMS sub-specialities as needed.”
Kapil Sharma hosts AIIMS team in Amritsar, Jassi helps on ground
Dr Malhi said Kapil Sharma arranged for his team’s stay and meals.
“It was more about his dedication to the people of Punjab. Kapil and his wife Giani spoke with all the doctors over the phone during the dinner on Saturday night.” Dr Malhi said.
He said, “Punjabi singer Jasbir Jassi helped the visiting unit with the on-ground hospitality and logistics. Jassi spent a day with the team on the ground.”
“These supports ensured uninterrupted camps and quicker re-deployments across the worst-hit border villages,” Malhi said.
Professor at Guru Nanak Dev Medical College in Amritsar, Dr Rakesh Sharma of Voice of Amritsar, said, “We co-located camps at gurdwaras, supplemented medicines and bandages, including stocks sized for roughly 1,000 beneficiaries, and assisted during the acid-ingestion emergency, coordinating with police for rapid transfer.”
“Our members joined rounds, set up base points with village sarpanchs and helped maintain door-to-door coverage alongside the AIIMS team,” said Dr Rakesh.
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