JAGATSINGHPUR: The telemedicine service started at the district headquarter hospital (DHH) to ensure timely medical consultations for the needy people in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic seems to have fallen flat. The distress calls and messages of patients and people suffering from illnesses are going unanswered, forcing them to go to the hospital for consultation and treatment. This has completely defeated the efforts to prevent crowding of OPDs in the hospitals, particularly the DHH, and thereby reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.
In April, the district administration had directed the chief district medical officer (CDMO) to start the telemedicine service at the DHH. It had made public the name and contact details of eight specialists at the DHH who could be contacted over phone for health enquiries. But none is responding to the calls of public, sources said. A patient Satyanarayan Sahoo from Naugoan said, “I suffer from hypertension. As there are no specialists in Naugaon, I contacted the medicine specialist of DHH over phone but he did not respond at all.”
Another woman said her six-year-old daughter was down with fever and diarrhoea but as the doctor did not receive her phone calls, she was forced to visit the DHH during the shutdown. Likewise, poor patients alleged that while they were advised by doctors to seek consultations on WhatsApp, they did not have smart phones to avail the facility. “Doctors are deliberately avoiding teleconsultation as it is a free service,” they alleged. Contacted, Medicine Specialist of DHH Dharnidhar Senapati confessed that he has no time to talk with patients over phone.
Patients who are sending health queries through WhatsApp messages are not prompt in giving details about prescription, which makes it a time-consuming affair, he added. Out of the total sanctioned 57 posts, only 33 doctors are working in DHH. Of these, only eight specialist doctors have enrolled for only telemedicine services. “I have directed ADMO, Medical Ajay Swain to look into the allegations and ensure improvement of the facility,” said CDMO Bijaya Panda.