Team Herald

PANJIM: The Goa State Aids Control Society counsellors are the first line of contact who take up telephone calls on working landlines and counsel patients in quarantine and isolation in facilities and Home.

This service will be extended using mobile phones in the coming days.

These counsellors assess the callers on a psychological scale, and if they score more than six points or if they have severe anxiety, suicidal ideas or severe loss of appetite and sleeplessness, they ask the caller to seek an appointment on covidav.com. If one is unable to do so, then, a health worker maybe asked to help the patient.

Once they seek an appointment those in quarantine and isolation get priority consultation with a psychiatrist volunteer. Who either decides to medicate patient or refers patient to a clinical psychologist for sessions.

The treating team also schedules follow-up sessions as per each doctors or psychologists assessment.

Alternately any one in quarantine or isolation can directly seek an appointment on covidav.com.