K'taka COVID task force head directs officials to strengthen helpline '1912'
May 03, 2021
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 3 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State head for COVID task force Dr CN Ashwatha Narayana on Monday directed the senior officials in charge of the COVID management to plug in the loopholes of helpline 1912.
The direction has been given to create an automotive and transparent bed allot system, and to develop an Integrated Index App, within a deadline of two days.
Following his being appointed as the chairperson of the reconstituted task force, he convened a meeting on Monday evening with senior officials who are leading the COVID management.
"The COVID helpline should be strengthened so that it should be able to receive all the inquiry calls. For this, measures should be taken to increase the line capacity of the helpline. Further, the professional call centers of private telecom companies can be roped in to manage the calls. This will help to resolve the confusion arising out of unprofessional management of calls which persists now," he suggested to concerned officers.
Noting that bed-blocking has become a major problem and there is a lack of transparency in the bed allocation system, he said as and when the patient gets admitted and discharged the data should be made automatically updated on a real-time basis.
"At present, the captured data with regard to COVID is split among many set-ups and available in only bits and pieces. There are several set-ups such as 1912 helpline, Aptha Mitra, Step one hospitals, Step two centers, Zonal level, Primary Health Centers, Home Isolation, 104, 108 and so on which are all engaged in pandemic management. But the data that is being collected in these set-ups is not being shared and integrated. This should be immediately sorted out by creating an 'Integrated Index App', which would serve as a single common platform," Narayana added.
About 92 per cent of the COVID affected are being home isolated and only 8 per cent require hospital admissions. In view of this caring for the home isolated should be made systematic. "If the home isolated are neglected and kept out of the loop of COVID management it will lead to anxiety," he told.
Narayana also ensured that any required orders to implement the measures will be issued immediately by the government.
