How they created a database of doctors from their gated community

Illustration for The Hindu

House of Hiranandani Upscale at Egattur on Old Mahabalipuram Road initiated an exercise during the lockdown to create a database of doctors residing in the community.

“Prior to the pandemic, we knew there were six to eight doctors staying at the community. Through this exercise, we identified many other doctors. Now, there are 25 doctors in our database, each with a specialisation,” says Raghavan Murti, president, Union of Tower Association at House of Hiranandani Upscale.

This exercise was significant as it came at a time when COVID-19 cases had peaked. The Association formed two groups: one comprising medical volunteers and the other, non-medical professionals.

A community member seeking any information relating to COVID-19 or any health-related concern had to approach the community leader or the president of the respective tower who in turn would forward the query to the panel of doctors.

Depending on the need, the resident would either be added to the WhatsApp group — comprising doctors and a few community heads — or the query would be answered through the president of the tower. The resident would be taken off the group once the query was answered and the issue resolved.

This was done very thoughtfully to ensure they did not equate it with any WhatsApp group.

Similar to the initiative of creating a database of doctors, he says, the society is working towards creating a service group that would promote other activities. “Forming a sub-committee of residents proficient in electrical and civil works would be our immediate focus,” he says.

“If we have a database of people and their professions then it is good to use it for the common welfare of the society,” says Murti.

The Association has documented all their learnings from the last nine months and called it “SOP Management for the pandemic”. “This is a document that has collated, both from the government as well as from the practices we adopted in the society. For example, ‘how to fumigate the common area/ an individual’s house’ is explained in detail,” he adds.