Odisha issues advisory to hospitals- mandatory help desk in all COVID facilities
On 16th May, 2021 the Government of Odisha issued an advisory to all government and private hospitals stating that they must establish a dedicated help desk at each COVID facility. The guidelines for this have been given below-
Each COVID-19 facility (dedicated COVID Care Centres or Dedicated COVID Health Centres or Dedicated COVID Hospitals) shall mandatorily establish a dedicated Help Desk to function 24x7.
The help desk must have a dedicated telephone preferably a toll free number.
The toll free numbers of all COVID-19 facilities shall be widely notified to the public.
The help desk shall be manned with sufficient HR so as to attend all calls round the clock in shift manner. In this context it may considered for engaging volunteer groups, NGO’s and CSO in Help Desks who can support in managing the patients being admitted in the hospital effectively and facilitate better interaction between hospital staff and patients’ attendants.
steps shall be taken to collect and record the contact numbers of the patient at the time of admission and even if not enquired by the attendant of the patient a general information of the condition of the patient shall be communicated as a SMS or WhatsApp message to the attendant of the patient every day at least once.
