KOCHI: Phones are always buzzing at the newly-set up Covid war room in the Kochi Metro building near Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium at Kaloor. More than 50 people, including officials from district administration, doctors, and young volunteers, are monitoring and updating data on the availability of beds and oxygen supply in both government and private hospitals. The war room works round the clock and its members work in two shifts.
Eldhose, a post-graduate in social work, has been monitoring and handling patient data from hospitals in the district for the past six months. As we speak, his phone rings. A health official from a private hospital is calling up to update the admission of a new Covid patient.
“The district has a total of 57 private hospitals and 14 government hospitals. We fill the occupancy in each hospital in the following categories — normal bed, oxygen bed, ICU, invasive ICU and non-invasive ICU. A second table handles the occupancy of Covid patients under Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi,” he says. Every four hours, the data is updated by the volunteers.
The team also monitors the stock of oxygen in each hospital consistantly, to ensure adequate supply. “Daily consumption, opening stock, closing of stock, filling of a cylinder, and the list of oxygen suppliers are being monitored,” Eldhose says. Working with the administration, they ensure that no patient struggles without treatment. Many like Eldho contribute to the relentless fight against Covid daily.
“Every government and private hospital across the district has a nodal officer who updates the bed occupancy statistics and oxygen consumption in the CARE portal, which can be monitored from here. If any patient is facing severe health issues, the teams of nurses and ASHA workers inform the medical officer and the patient is directed to the telemedicine doctors. If necessary, the patient is then shifted to a hospital. Emergency cases are shifted immediately,” says Dr Mathews, District Programme Manager, National Health Mission.
The nodal officers of the hospitals are alerted when a patient needs to be admitted. “A WhatsApp message is sent to the nodal officer’s number with details of the patient including name, contact number, address and to which hospital is he/she to be shifted,” says Rajesh N M, the Junior Health Inspector.
Its a teamwork
There are countless people behind the scenes managing data and ensuring beds for Covid patients and adequate oxygen supply in the hospitals. The Covid war room is an effort to mobilise and streamline the use of resources at a time when demand is high.
There are three wings in the war room in total
One to monitor the availability of bed and oxygen supply in the hospital
The second to shift critical patients to hospitals
The third wing consists of district administration officials, who oversee the entire system