If you have a fever and are not sure what infection it could be, you could try calling 104. You can describe your symptoms, and based on this, the paramedics will tell you what to do and also provide details of the nearest testing and treatment centres in your locality.
The health helpline, which functions 24x7, has geared up to deal with monsoon-related illnesses and has trained all its paramedics in the standardised advice that is to be given in these cases, said B. Prabhudoss, head, marketing and hospital relations of GVK EMRI, which operates the helpline.
“If we feel there is an emergency and the resident needs immediate care, we will dispatch an ambulance. Our paramedics have been trained on all kinds of fevers as well as water-borne and respiratory ailments,” he said.
With the flood waters receding but intermittent rains expected, hospitals that had to deal with water-logged premises are also taking measures to prevent infections in their patients. At the Institute of Mental Health, parts of which still have pools of water, all the 1,100-odd patients have been administered antibiotics, given nilavembu kudineer and sweaters, a senior official said,
“We are also in the process of installing mosquito nets on all windows. Most of the water has been drained out and none has entered the wards. We have had no outbreaks so far but we are also checking the chlorine levels and ensuring the water does not stagnate,” he said.
Global Hospitals, which had also been flooded but is now fully functional, has formed a calamity-associated medical services team to deal with infections that are expected to spike in the next few days, said vice-president of the hospital Bhaskar Reddy.
“In the meantime, we have taken several precautions – after all the water was drained out, we have been fumigating – this will be done three times,” he said. Snake repellent solution was used on the campus, all in-patient areas thoroughly cleaned and the water supply too was checked, said Subramanian Swaminathan, consultant, infection diseases at the hospital.
The hospital is also starting camps on its premises with nominal charges to check for flood-related ailments, has begun a dengue outpatient service and will soon be going out to flood-hit areas to conduct medical camps, they said.
“Our team will function from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. so that if a patient comes in, he can be evaluated quickly, treated and followed up on. The aim was to have a streamlined single-window system to manage the rise in fevers, diarrhoea and other ailments,” Dr. Swaminathan said.
