our little village in Munsyari Block of Pithoragarh district is a small place. 8000 folks in a cluster of villages. Let me tell you this virus has now reached even the remote glacial base villages. How did it get there ?
Awareness/Biases/Beliefs: You have got to get your act together on communication. Our healthcare system suffers from poor infra but also from anchored biases about how our poor & rural folk think of healthcare -something expensive, something to be avoided and something that kills
Change this first. You have to create faith, belief in science & healthcare. It won’t be easy but without this neither will u beat covid and nor do u have hope in ironing out India’s healthcare system issues.This fear against healthcare facilities makes people NOT report symptoms
Correct your Protocols: My infection came because my staff’s wife was found asymptomatic in a testing camp in the village thru Rapid antigen, but tests results for the same was given 2 days later. In those two days the staff went about unaware & passed the bug to me.
I wore masks but they didn’t at their home. They went back home for 2 days to a Covid positive patient without knowing. Why were they not informed to NOT mingle till test results came? Was this Just a random testing camp to show how many tests conducted?
Let’s stop this circus. Right here. Pls. It got me so ill I had to be moved in an air ambulance first to Haldwani & from there to Mumbai. I shudder to think what happens to those who can’t afford this luxury. You NEED to get into minute details now and not big announcements
Testing : Why pray tell me after a year of this mad disease there is still NO effective testing process, robustness in rural areas. This MUST STOP. People in UP are even turned back from testing. You very well know -testing is the only way. Then why this randomness.
My own RAT test first came negative but symptoms persisted and good PHC doc took one more which came positive. He also took RTPCR swab. Five days now and 1000s of miles away I still await its result. My earlier test result a month ago took 9 days to come.
How will you ever arrest this problem without effective testing protocol and turnaround. Virus will always be ahead of you. Winning. Killing and robbing you and the nation of its remaining dignity. So get into details - devil is literally there. How can we augment rural testing.
Isolation : villagers are told to isolate at home post testing positive. Now, can someone pls explain to those who write these funny protocols that in rural households there is only one toilet and bathroom. People can’t isolate. So what’s the next best option
Equip every panchayat ghar as an isolation centre with processes laid out for Asha workers to manage protocols. Supported by gram pradhan. If it’s too small then local PHC or covid care centre also. Right now panchayat Ghars that operate as isolation or quarantine centres ..
They Don’t even have a mattress. No functioning toilet. Forget about patient care. Prepare this. It’s not rocket science. A panchayat ghar can take up to 3-5 patients for sure. Localise the problem at village level. Don’t ask rural folk to isolate at home. It doesn’t work!
Pay and protect Asha workers. Many states’ Asha workers and NHM workers not paid on time. This is the least u can ensure. But they also don’t have PPE. I saw staff at GOVT hospital in Haldwani not have enough PPE. My own ICU bed had no sanitiser. Fix this. You know how to.
Vaccine: Stop obsessing with tech like Cowin & let people in rural areas get vaccinated easily. My husband & I have now sat for three weeks everyday trying to book slots for poor villagers at local PHC bcoz they can’t operate your system. Just junk it. Follow what u do for BCG.
