Excelsior Correspondent
At a time when most of the Corona patients are complaining about lack of adequate facilities, insanitary conditions, unhygienic food etc in COVID hospitals, Care Centres and Quarantine Centres, the COVID Hospital Gandhi Nagar, Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu, which is otherwise known as Maternity Hospital has become a ray of hope for the Corona patients as the authorities at the helm of affairs are making their best possible efforts to make the patients feel like home, which is something rare and none else than the patients admitted there too have acknowledged this fact.
COVID Hospital Gandhi Nagar GMC Jammu (the Maternity Hospital) has total strength of 200 beds of which the administration has reserved 165 beds for COVID patients and 35 beds for the staff members which is on night duty.
Hospital Medical Superint-endent Dr Arun Sharma with the help of staff members has come up with novel idea to make the COVID patients feel like home and the concept is working well, which can be well gauged from the remarks made by the patients at the Visitors’ Book while leaving the hospital after testing negative for the virus.
Dr Sharma told the Excelsior that they have launched a WhatsApp Group for all COVID patients admitted in the hospital. As soon as a patient is admitted in the hospital, he is made a member of the Group and is free to make comments, give suggestions and mention his requirements.
“This makes us understand requirements of the patients and we try our best to meet them as early as possible,” Dr Sharma said, adding the WhatsApp Group has virtually linked entire administration of the hospital with COVID patients 24×7.
In a unique gesture, the hospital administration has allowed family members of the patients to deliver whatever asked for by the patients once in a day at the fixed time.
“We have asked the patients to tell their requirements to their family members, if any, a day in advance. A time has been fixed everyday when attendants of the patients can come to safe zone in the hospital and deliver whatever the patients want. Then our staff goes and deliver the goods to the patients,” Dr Sharma said, adding this helps the patients stay connected to their families. They can have even food of their choice once in a day.
Other requirements of the patients are met by the hospital administration.
Narrating an incident, Dr Sharma said once a COVID patient got a cut from the knife and posted message in the WhatsApp Group. As a Post Graduate in Surgery Department was also admitted in the COVID Ward after being infected by the virus, the hospital administration deputed necessary requirements to the PG Surgery who stitched the wound of the patient.
“While the doctors are readily available within the hospital, the doctors and Nurses admitted in the COVID Wards after being infected by the virus are also helping other patients a lot,” Dr Sharma said.
To keep the patients busy and in good mood, the hospital administration has also fixed one hour of yoga in the morning in the COVID Ward and one hour dance programme in the evening. However, all these programmes are done by maintaining social distancing and following all norms of COVID management.
The Visitors’ Book is self explanatory.
The hospital administration has kept Visitors’ Book in the COVID Ward and every person before leaving for the house after testing negative is free to write their remarks. The remarks are very encouraging as the maximum patients have praised the services rendered by the doctors, paramedics, safai karamcharis and all other staff members of the hospital to them.
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