Kerala doctors offer free online consultation on virus

Ashraf Padanna, Correspondent

A group of doctors from the southern Indian state of Kerala working both within the country and abroad are offering free consultation in multiple disciplines.

Dr SV Arun, state coordinator of the Doctors for Social Justice (DSJ) offering free teleconsultation, said many doctors from the Gulf also are part of the initiative.

Doctors say an increasing number of doctors and nurses are getting infected by the coronavirus, seriously affecting the services at the public hospitals.

On Sunday, the state reported the highest single-day infections of 3,082 and 50 of them were health workers, mostly nurses and hospital assistants.

Currently, 22,676 of the 87,841 of the COVID-19 patients are under treatment while 347 of them have died according to the official figures excluding non-natives and those with severe comorbidities.

However, a group of independent doctors keeping track of the deaths puts the total toll at 653. "We started the initiative soon after the COVID-19 outbreak and doctors are now enthusiastically participating in it,” Dr Arun, a family physician, told Gulf Today.

"In Kerala, we are expecting the pandemic to peak this month, and it’s better for patients vulnerable to contract the virus to avoid hospital visits.”

The DSJ has joined hands with Congress Care Hands, an initiative of the opposition Congress party in Kerala, to expand the network further.

"We are receiving a good response from expert health professionals from all disciplines willing to join the initiative,” he said.

"We are now receiving between 100 to 200 calls every day seeking medical advice. A lot of calls are coming from the Gulf countries.”

RV Rajesh, the state coordinator of Congress Care Hands said some 100 doctors had already joined the project.

The patient registration is also available at www.congresscarehands.in

"The doctors will get an alert when the healthcare seeker registers for consultation,” Rajesh told Gulf Today.

"The doctors will call them back when they are free. Those who have non-serious health problems will get suggestions for treatment and medicines.”

Former chief minister Oommen Chandy opened a webinar series on health, education and social awareness as part of the initiative.

Kannan Gopinath, a top officer who quit India’s elite civil services protesting restrictions in Kashmir, spoke on "human rights and citizenship during the pandemic.”

Dr SS Lal, a professor at Global Institute of Public Health and Kerala chapter president of All India Professional Congress, attended the webinar.

The doctors’ guild has been extending its expertise to home-bound patients before initiating the telehealth-care service. The service is offered free of cost.

"Most of the calls from abroad are from expatriates separated by the pandemic from their families who require psychological counselling,” Rajesh said.