The patients of Covid 19 in home isolation would now get the services of a medical counsellor who would be in regular touch with the patients during their quarantine period. Apart from closely monitoring the health of the patients these counsellors would ensure that the medical kit is delivered at their residences.

In case of deterioration in health of the patients in home isolation, these counsellors would inform the Covid control centres (CCC) in the districts and the village level Covid monitoring committees. The CCC would arrange the medicines as per the medical opinion and arrange for ambulances for transporting the patient to a Covid Care centre or dedicated Covid hospital.

In an order to the all district magistrates (DM), the secretary health Amit Singh Negi said that the DMs would allot one medical counsellor to every Covid patient in home isolation. These counsellors would be selected from among allopathic doctors, pharmacists, nursing staff, Ayush practitioners, dentists, PG students of Allopathic and Ayush medical colleges and the staff of the medical colleges capable of doing the job.  A list of people capable of being counsellors would be prepared by the nodal officers for Human Resource Management of the districts. Negi said that for providing guidance to these counsellors’ one nodal officer would be appointed in every district. These counsellors would also be provided online training.  A committee comprising of Vice Chancellor (VC) of Medical University, Principal Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) and Head of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) Dr Pankaj Singh would be responsible for online training of counsellors.

In the order, Negi said that the counsellors would make a phone or video call to the patient on a daily basis and would keep a record of his/her condition. They would also submit reports of the monitoring of the patients done by them.

One counsellor should not be provided for more than 50 patients and they would be provided with Rs 1000 per month as reimbursement for telephone bill payment and upkeep of the documents.

The decision to provide medical counsellors to every Covid patient assumes significance amid increase in the fatality of contagion in the state. The experts are of the view that unmonitored home isolation is one of the reasons for higher death rate in the state. The issue was highlighted in detail by The Pioneer in its edition of May 2, 2021.