Ward level triaging centres for patients in home isolation

Bengaluru: The first meeting of newly-constituted Ward Decentralised Triage and Emergency Response (DETER) Committee for COVID 19 Management – WDC, was held on Sunday under the chairmanship of Forest Minister Arvind Limbavali.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that in the wake of increasing cases, the State government has issued a directive to manage the spread of the virus at the ward level. The model being following in Mumbai and Chennai will be implemented to curb the virus in Bengaluru. He requested the volunteers, NGOs, RWAs and the public to join hands with the officials to fight Covid.

He said that not every Covid infected person needs hospitalisation. Those with no separate facility to self-isolate can get treated at any of Covid Care Centres or Stabilisation Centres. Along with this, triaging centres will be formed at the ward level to treat the patients in home isolation, the minister said.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said that the State government formed an Emergency Response Committee at ward level in BBMP limits to combat Covid19. Everyone is required to work towards containing the virus. He said there are about 2,000 cases in the city on daily basis. In this regard, decentralisation of zonal war rooms can help address every need of the Covid19 patients. This will also help bring down the rising cases, he noted.

Principal Secretary, Revenue Department, N Manjunatha Prasad advised officials in each ward to work with RWAs, organisations, students, and volunteers and set up a ward control room, triage centre, micro Covid Care Centre to respond quickly to the concerns of patients. He also said that lists of small hospitals, dental colleges and students must be prepared and teams must be formed to assign responsibilities of Covid19 management. The issues of bed allotment, late test results must be solved locally, he added.

Nodal officers, doctors, staff, ANMs and ASHA workers will be working at the 141 primary health centres in the city. Testing and vaccination will take place in these PHCs, he said. In addition, a control room and a triaging centre will be established in all the wards immediately to provide reassurance to local citizens and the Covid infected. The Department of Health and Medical Education will appoint the staff needed for the Triaging Centre which will operate 24 hours. "Covid can be controlled when the infected persons in home quarantine are provided kits and shifted to Covid care centres/stabilisation centres, or hospitals, if and when the need arises. The patients are reassured about overcoming the virus."

He instructed officials to utilize the existing system properly. Stressing the need to work in tandem with everyone, Manjunath Prasad said that changes, if any, would be made to the order passed by the State government. Zonal commissioners, zonal coordinators, joint commissioners, ward committee nodal officers, doctors and 400 other officials attended the meeting.