PANJIM: The recently-commissioned South Goa District Hospital (SGDH) as a dedicated COVID-19 facility will soon be equipped with Intensive Care Units (ICU) and Intensive Therapy Units (ITU); a move that would ease burden on Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane made the announcement following a virtual meeting held with the doctors and officers, to review protocol for Home Isolation Kits. The SGDH has been operational since last month and it has played a major role in reducing the burden on the first COVID-19 Hospital at Margao. The government also dedicated six wards at GMC for critically ill COVID-19 patients.
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At the review meeting, Rane also revealed that the government aims to distribute home isolation kits to 5,000 patients in a week and each kit will be numbered to monitor the stock and kit distribution.
The health officers will also issue prescription to the patients receiving kit for Doxycycline and Ivermectine tablets.
“Daily records of home isolation patients will be signed by respective health officers at the primary health centres,” he said.
The standard operating procedures will be drawn for taking CT Scan and X-Ray of the home isolation patients while for critical patients, elderly or co-morbid patients; CT Scan and X-Ray will be done beforehand.
“The patients under home isolation who are above 50 years to be monitored three times a day by auxiliary nurse midwifes (ANMs) and multipurpose health workers (MPHWs). Special attention to be given to them by senior doctors. MPHWs and ANMs have been trained to record and monitor patient data and alert any escalation to the health officers,” Rane said in a note released on his social media account.
The government, if required, will rope-in services of the Anganwadi workers or CDPOs to monitor home isolation patients. Likewise, 10 nurses will be trained for analysing patient records and reporting it to the State Epidemiologist.
The health minister has also taken a decision to allow few COVID-19 care centres to remain active in order to reduce pressure from GMC.
