The coronavirus in recent times has become an issue of concern for ordinary citizens as much as it has become a worry for state sponsored public health mechanisms.
Is India adequately prepared to deal with the spread of Covid-19, does it have the adequate infrastructure, trained staff and hospitable ecosystems to bring the spread of the disease under control?
Delhi has a total of 460 Mohalla clinics that are operational in the city. On an average these Mohalla clinics cater to about 160-200 patients on a per day basis.
In a step forward to make the healthcare system in the Capital more capable and ready, the Delhi government has begun training doctors working at the Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics in handling suspected Covid-19 cases. This move is aimed at strengthening the existing healthcare structure in Delhi at least at the primary level. These doctors have been asked to report all the suspect cases to designated hospitals. So far a total of 11 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been reported from Delhi.
In order to make this step successful, the chief district officers of 11 districts have been reaching out to the doctors at the Mohalla clinics and explaining to them the guidelines that need to be taken care of while screening a patient.
The health coordinator of the Dialogue and Development Commission(DDC) Dr. Nimmi Rastogi stated, “This is an initiative by the CDMOS in the city. They are calling doctors and sending out WhatsApp messages about the do’s and don’ts to be followed while screening any patient. If any patient shows symptoms, then he/she and their family members are being counselled. We are providing awareness material to Mohalla clinic doctors.”
Delhi has a total of 460 Mohalla clinics that are operational in the city. On an average these Mohalla clinics cater to about 160-200 patients on a per day basis. Each Mohalla Clinic has a doctor and three multi-tasking workers. In the meantime, the Delhi government has also given six state hospitals the authority to collect samples of suspected Covid-19 patients. Theses six hospitals are Lok Nayak, Guru Ten Bahadur, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality, Janakpuri Super Speciality and Deep Dayal Hospitals.
The Delhi government is also taking up the initiative of bringing various path labs on board to provide testing facility. Roche Diagnostics is the first private lab to get the approval for coronavirus testing. Three other labs may also soon be authorised to conduct testing for coronavirus including BioMetrieux, Trivitron Healthcare and Maylab Discovery Solutions . So far all samples were sent to AIIMS and National Centre for Disease Control.
