A district-level control room, which was opened a few months ago at the Kozhikode collectorate to handle COVID-19-related queries, proved its strength again by managing critical communications following Friday’s flight crash at the Karipur airport.
The control room, which functions with the support of the National Health Mission (NHM), was declared the official helpline within just two hours after the mishap, and those at work quickly emerged as trustworthy sources of information for frantic callers.
Though the staff strength at the control room was 10, including health workers and teachers, only a few of them were on night shift. It was their willingness to take up the challenge that helped thousands from various parts of the country. The staff provided accurate information about casualties and others. They also shared the workload of another helpline in Malappuram district.
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“For us, the biggest surprise was that there were many callers who enquired about the health condition of victims, purely out of empathy. This was besides calls from relatives or friends of those who were believed to have travelled by the ill-fated flight,” said Randolf Vincent, a coordinator at the control room. He added that the confirmed list of passengers and that of those injured provided by the Disaster Management Authority helped the control room facilitate quick delivery of information.
The non-stop calls in different languages seeking more clarity continued till Saturday morning. In between, the team also ensured availability of ambulances on the direction of the Kozhikode District Collector. Senior Revenue officials, including Deputy Collectors, also chipped in to coordinate the service.
The control room staff said they had students, teachers, and nurses as external support providers. “Apart from the helpline management, NHM is now having a key role in managing telemedicine service in association with doctors from different specialities,” they said.
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