Telemedicine came as a big relief especially for Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) patients during COVID Pandemic: DHS Punjab
Telemedicine came as a big relief especially for Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) patients during COVID Pandemic: DHS Punjab
A Consultation on access to quality healthcare and telemedicine services during COVID-19 in Punjab was Organised by Healthy India Alliance (HIA)and Strategic Institute of Public Health Education and Research (SIPHER).
It was hosted by Mr Arun Verma Director Operations SIPHER. Introducing the topic of consultation Dr Rakesh Gupta President, SIPHER said that, this consultation aimed to provide a unified platform for multiple stakeholders, including People Living with Non- Communicable Diseases (PLWNCDs); Government representatives; Civil Society Organizations; Medical Fraternity to engage on discussions and deliberations related to community action for NCD prevention and treatment. He added that given the brunt of the pandemic on health care systems nationwide, this consultation was centred around access to quality healthcare services and treatment during COVID-19 and the digital divide in accessing telemedicine services during the pandemic. He mentioned that SIPHER was running a Tele helpline collaborating with Punjab Red Cross Society and had 35 subject experts on board and also supported NHM Punjab for providing wi-fi dongles to Health Wellness Centres. This enhanced connectivity, strengthening usage of telemedicine by the general public
Dr G B Singh, Director Health Services, Punjab was the special guest in this consultation who enlightened the participants about the rerouting of services towards COVID management and emergency services and the initiatives put in place by Punjab Govt to deal with NCD patients who were most affected due to chronic state of their conditions including telemedicine through health and wellness centres and e-sanjeevani.
Ms Radhika Shrivastava Senior Director HRIDAY and HIA gave an overview of the initiatives planned under Healthy India Alliance to create an enabling environment for active participation of health and non-health Civil Society Organisations to prevent and control Non-Communicable Diseases through effective policies, partnerships and programmes. SIPHER and HIA plan to work closely with Govt. of Punjab to achieve the goal. DR. Shikha Bhasin from HRIDAY and HIA , a member of the organising team moderated the technical Session. Dr Sandeep Gill, Assistant Director and State Nodal Officer NPCDCS Punjab detailed how the NCD patients were provided succour under NPCDCS. Mrs Seema Bali and Mr Atul Gupta, PLWNCDs Advocates and Champions shared personal experiences for navigating care-seeking for NCDs during the COVID lockdown and challenges due to restricted access to medical facilities.
Dr Sonu Goel, Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh shared his experience about the public health aspect of NCD patients being neglected in pandemic and how PGI tackled the issue. Dr Surya Kant Mathur, Director Endocrinology, MAX Hospital, Mohali, Dr Anand Gupta, Associate Professor, GMCH, Chandigarh, Dr Shaina Verma, Senior State Training Supervisor, Indian Red Cross told about the ways to deal with Diabetics, Hypertensives and Cancer patients in their hospitals and organisations.
Shruti Agrawal, Co-Founder and Chief Strategic Officer, Innovative Cancer Care and Rehabilitation (ICanCaRe), Ajaib Singh, President, Social Development and Research Foundation, Kharar, Mohali deliberated on the role of Civil Society Organisations in enhancing meaningful engagement of PLWNCDs through enhancing collaborative efforts across all sectors including those living with NCDs and stressing on capacity building
