A gaggle of 300 doctors from across the planet have close to line up a free telemedicine consultation service in Jammu and Kashmir to serve non-COVID-19 patients who have suffered because the focus of the prevailing healthcare infrastructure has been on handling the pandemic.
Under the ‘Dial a Doctor’ programme, quite 300 doctors across the world and from different specialties and sub-specialties provide voluntary health services to the patients.
Ehsaas International and Dard Welfare Society, in association with Kashmir Health Care Support Group, have initiated this healthcare consultative service, Hakim Mohammad Ilyas, general secretary of Ehsaas International, told PTI.
“Considering the adverse impact the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the prevailing health infrastructure of J&K, we decided to launch ‘Dial a Doctor’ programme wherein people would get access to quality health consultations and services without leaving the four walls of their houses,” he said.
“This was conceptualised keeping in sight that hospitals are high risk places for contraction of COVID-19 and lots of medical ailments are often managed by telephonic consultations thus avoiding visit of patients to hospitals,” Ilyas said.
To ensure timely disposal of queries, an impact room managed by doctors and paramedical staff has been found out with a toll free number 1800 889 2729 backed with 10 lines at the rear end to avoid any inconvenience to the patients, he said.
“In the last two months, quite 2,000 consultations are provided to the people freed from cost,” he added.
Chairman of Ehsaas International Tabassum Geelani said this service is being delivered with the approval of Health and Medical Department of Education , the govt of J&K and it’s brought a sigh of relief to the patients who don’t need to undertake risky visits to hospitals for ailments aside from COVID-19.
