THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:When the deluge struck the state, people from various walks of life rushed to rescue the stranded. Among the relief and rescue workers, doctors featured prominently. These men and women in white came together to take care of the medical necessities of those arriving at the relief camps.
Around 150 to 200 doctors registered with the IMA Ernakulam chapter are involved in the mission, said Dr Varghese Cherian, IMA president. “They have been engaged in providing the necessary medical help to the flood victims. The common complaints seen among the people coming to the relief centres are anxiety and panic. There are also those who have diabetes and hypertension. These patients, who had left their daily medicines at home, were provided with their dosages,” he said.
On Monday, IMA opened a command centre at the General Hospital. “Dr Madhu is the nodal officer of the disaster cell. The centre will be open 24 hours. People can call the centre and ask all medical-related questions,” said the doctor.
According to him, the centre has 30 lines. “This will enable people to call simultaneously seeking answers to their health-related questions,” he said. “If the health problem posed by the person requires only simple medication, it is handled by the doctor on the spot. But if the symptoms point that the person concerned needs to be looked at by a doctor, a physician is dispatched to the area. And if the problem is found to be serious and needs a specialist, it will be arranged,” he added. Also, if a relief camp or person needs medicines, they can contact us using the hotline, he said. “However, we are on the lookout for an outbreak of diseases like diarrhoea, leptospirosis,” he added.
The number of the hotline is 9946992995.