Every COVID-19 ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) now has a smartphone and walkie-talkie to enable better communication among healthcare providers of the hospital.
The hospital has purchased 20 smartphones and 20 walkie talkies for all the COVID-19 wards including at the Rheumatology block, speciality block and Tower-3. Residents made a representation to the hospital dean to provide walkie-talkies and smartphones with data for all COVID-19 wards, as they cannot carry their mobile phones to the wards.
“We purchased 20 smartphones for the COVID-19 wards. This will enable easier and quicker communication with the staff on duty in the wards. Consultants can inquire about patients and provide opinions to the duty doctor,” E. Theranirajan, dean of RGGGH, said. When asked about the possibility of transmission through the use of common devices, he said hospital officials have given clear instructions to sterilise the devices frequently.
With this, each floor will have a common phone number for the use of doctors, staff nurses and other workers on COVID-19 duty. The phone numbers will be made available for relatives of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are admitted at RGGGH, he said, adding: “We have completely restricted visitors to the hospital. We are making available the list of numbers to contact the wards. Relatives can contact the wards too.”
Dr. Theranirajan said the walkie-talkies were made available in all COVID-19 wards, and the COVID-19 outpatient department in Tower 3. “This will facilitate immediate communication between the first point of care and the wards. Healthcare personnel can communicate easily and instantly on aspects including bed vacancy and availability of ventilators,” he added.
Doctors noted that earlier, reaching those on duty was difficult as each shift had different batches of healthcare providers.
In addition to this, the hospital is arranging for a battery-operated car with a stretcher exclusively for transferring COVID-19 patients from Tower-3 to the COVID-19 wards.
