Hyderabad: Covid distress calls to helpline numbers dropped

Hyderabad: Astonishing! the State-run Covid-19 helpline numbers which were flooded with around 200 calls every day until lockdown is now receiving only 20 – 30 calls. Since the outbreak of second wave in April almost every government helpline was busy responding to the calls either from Covid-19 patients or kin of those who died due to the virus.

"Covid Control Room of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) which used to receive about 200 calls in a day, now since the lockdown has been in force the number of Covid related calls had been reduced to 20 to 30 a day," informed a source.

The Hyderabad's helpline report of the GHMC's Covid-19 control room with 12 helplines and having 40 officers deployed shows that on Monday no calls were received regarding ambulance service. The control room received a total of 60 calls, out of which 43 were made for the vaccination. Meanwhile, on the same day 8 calls were received for counselling, 3 for Covid testing, and other calls regarding Covid were received by the control room.

Decline in number of calls was witnessed even at the State-run King Koti Hospital, which is now a Covid-19 facility. According to the health care staff of the hospital, the drop in Covid-19 patient load at the government-run Covid facilities has brought down distress calls and workload on doctors, nursing staff, and other health care workers.

The senior doctor of the King Koti Hospital said that earlier more than 30 doctors along with about 50 nurses were completely occupied in the 8 to 12 hours shifts, one finishes off the duty immediately, the other used to take over. But, now maybe it could be the lockdown effect that people are indoors and that is the reason fewer calls are being received for the availability of beds, ICU beds, Oxygen beds, and ventilator beds.

An official from the health department also informed that the workload of the doctors has also been reduced compared to earlier days, it could be said that the doctors and nursing staff are now taking a sigh of relief.

Apart from the government helpline numbers, few NGO helpline numbers have also witnessed a dip in Covid emergency calls in May. "Earlier we have received calls related for ambulance, oxygen, and even for cremation, but nowadays we are not seeing as many calls as in the previous months," said a social activist, who runs an NGO in the city.