This Kolkata hospital offers ‘virtual visiting hours’ for Covid-19 patients

A personal hospital that registered West Bengal’s first Covid-19 dying on March 23, has discovered a strategy to make sufferers work together with their households because the state authorities has banned cell phones in isolation wards at hospitals throughout the state.

The authorities’s choice got here after a affected person on the state-run Bangur Hospital in Kolkata shot a video of a lifeless physique mendacity in a ward and shared it on social media.

Subsequently, even the inter-ministerial central workforce (IMCT) visiting Bengal raised the difficulty.

In its order, the federal government mentioned the ban was being imposed as a result of cell phones carry germs and an infection.

“Keeping in mind the anxiety of family members of patients and the recent government directive banning mobile phones in isolation wards, given how mobile phones are carriers of germs and infection, AMRI Hospitals has started ‘Virtual Visiting Hours’ so that patients can keep in touch with family members even from isolation,” AMRI hospital mentioned in an announcement on Sunday.

The service was launched on the exact same day.

“Every day, nurses at the isolation wards will approach each patient and connect them to their family over video call. The virtual visiting hour will take place from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm,” the assertion mentioned.

Rupak Barua, group CEO, AMRI Hospitals, mentioned, “Since normal visitations don’t apply to patients in isolation wards, we have been thinking of how to help our patients and their family members. We started it on Sunday, which has made both patients and their family members happy. This will mitigate their anxiety to a great extent. Our doctors also believe that getting to interact with their loved ones will help patients recover faster.”

Dr Koushik Chaki, secretary, West Bengal Doctors’ Forum, mentioned, “Experts have categorically said that when a patient is kept in isolation the mobile phone becomes an essential item. It helps him fight the isolation and psychological pressure. And, it takes only a few seconds to disinfect a phone.”

Incidentally, a senior well being division official contaminated with Covid-19 died at AMRI Hospital on Sunday.