3 min readPuneJan 25, 2022 02:51 PM IST
First published on: Jan 25, 2022 at 02:45 PM IST
The industrial city of Pimpri-Chinchwad has over 27,500 Covid-19 patients in home isolation, but not a single patient among them has so far required any emergency help or the need to be admitted to a hospital. Also, no home-isolated patient has been reported to have succumbed to the virus, officials said.
According to the health department of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), 95 per cent of Covid-19 patients in the municipal area are currently in home isolation. Only 609 patients are either in hospitals or Covid Care Centres set up by the civic body.
Dr Laxman Gofane, the head of the PCMC medical department, said since most patients are showing mild symptoms, they are being asked to isolate themselves at home. “However, these patients are being strictly monitored by the PCMC. If they need any help, we are reaching out to them,” he said.
The PCMC has roped in a call centre to monitor patients in home isolation. The call centre, run by Ornet Technologies Pvt Ltd, is based in Mumbai. Every day, between 2,000-2,500 calls are made from the call centre to patients in home isolation. “The patients are asked about their symptoms, medicines they have been prescribed and whether they are taking them regularly, their blood oxygen level and so on… If they need any medical help, civic doctors with the Swasthya Tele Consultation Helpline set up at the Covid War Room are being alerted. The doctors provide tele-consulting,” said Ram Bhojane, the director of Ornet Technologies Pvt Ltd.
Dr Christopher Zavier, the head of the PCMC Covid War Room, said no patient in home isolation has required hospitalisation in the last one month. “But yes, they need medical advice. When the call centre staff get such a call, the doctors are alerted. The doctors then provide the necessary advice and counselling to the patients through the Swasthya Tele Consultation Helpline. The call centre has received nearly 1,500 calls over the past month from patients requiring medical advice,” he said.
Dr Abhijit Sangade, who heads the team of doctors at the Covid War Room, said, “In some cases, we send an Asha worker or a nurse from a nearby hospital to the residence of the patient concerned. In other cases, the patient might require a change in medicine or some other advice.”
The officials said that they make the first call to a patient as soon as s/he is put in home isolation. After that, at least three more calls are made during the seven-day home-isolation period.
The PCMC pays Rs 13 per call to the private agency.
The officials said that they make the first call to a patient as soon as s/he is put in home isolation. After that, at least three more calls are made during the seven-day home-isolation period. (File) 
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