Mumbai: How smartphones help Covid patients in hospital

The smartphones distributed by the civic body have helped at least 10,000 Covid-19 patients at jumbo centres and major hospitals as they could speak to their families

The smartphones distributed by the civic body have helped at least 10,000 Covid-19 patients at jumbo centres and major hospitals as they could speak to their families daily, leading to faster recovery, according to the doctors.

Healthcare workers conduct screening and swab test at Goregaon, on Tuesday. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Fears of re-infection and feeling disconnected from their children are prime reasons for anxiety among patients, claim doctors. Till December 15, the civic body has distributed 200 smartphones to Covid-19 jumbo centres and all the four major hospitals. The civic body provides free calling services to patients. Also, these patients are given counselling through the smartphones. NESCO jumbo centre has tied up with an organisation called Prafulta that offer voluntary service.

Sudhir Mehra, 44-year-old resident of Borivli, was diagnosed with Covid-19 on November 14. Soon, his 67-year-old diabetic mother, wife and son, too, tested positive. Considering his mother was above 50 years of age, she was hospitalised at the NESCO jumbo centre as a precautionary measure. But she would keep pleading with the doctors to discharge her as she was experiencing anxiety because of staying alone. When she started talking to her son on a daily basis on the phone, she became less aggressive and began to take the medicines. “I would talk to her twice daily. The doctors would call us and connect with my mother. She was too scared as she was staying alone. We used to counsel her on the phone which helped improve her health both mentally and physically,” said Mehra. “We have seen that patients who talk regularly with their family members show faster recovery. Along with physical health, we also have to look at the mental health of the patients,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, BMC.

Mona Barbhaya, one of the counsellors, said patients often felt disconnected from their children. “We always try to understand the cause of anxiety among patients. For younger mothers, they worry about their children, so we suggest they get engaged with their children online including games. This helps elevate their mood,” said she.

However, a section of the psychiatrists believes counselling through telecommunication is ineffective. Dr Vani Kulhalli, psychiatrist at Bandra-Kurla Complex jumbo centre, which has provided face-to-face counselling to over 4,000 patients, stated in an email response to HT that outsourcing mental health care to teleconsultation is not adequate. “We provide a complete range of treatments from acute delirium, stress management, psychiatric care, personal counselling and family support…(sic). This is the ideal method of providing mental health services at Covid-19 hospital. I would bring your attention to the case in Kerala where patient’s suicide couldn’t be prevented through teleconsultation,” she wrote in her email.