Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday directed senior doctors across the state to visit Covid-19 patients in their Covid facilities on a daily basis to ensure proper treatment for them.

After a virtual meeting with the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, Chief Medical Officers, Principals and Medical Superintendents of Medical Colleges of Himachal Pradesh, the CM said a common strategy must be prepared to provide proper treatment to the Covid-19 patients, especially those with comorbidities.

Thakur expressed concern over the increase in the number of deaths of Covid-19 patients in the state in the last few days, saying the doctors must ensure proper treatment for the patients, especially those with comorbidities.

“Proper protocol must be adopted for home isolation for the asymptotic patients as it has been felt that such patients at home do not get proper treatment and care. Such patients must be treated as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) and proper hygiene and cleanliness must be maintained in the Covid-19 hospitals,” he said.

Thakur said patients must be provided oxygen cylinders if required so that the patients do not face any problem. Further, hot water, “Kada” and nutritious food must be made available to the patients besides developing a mechanism for ensuring proper communication with the Covid-19 patients and their family members.

He said that senior doctors must visit the Covid patients in the state-run healthcare facilities across the state daily so that coronavirus patients could get proper treatment.

The CM directed Medical Superintendents of all the Medical Colleges and major Zonal Hospitals in the state to make at least two rounds in a day to monitor all the facilities such as ward cleanliness, treatment to the patients, quality of food, and condition of toilets in their respective hospitals.

Thakur said that special thrust must be laid on ensuring better health facilities in IGMC Shimla, Dr RPMC, Tanda and LBSMC, Ner Chowk, keeping in view the large number of Covid patients in these medical colleges and hospitals.

“Proper strategy for Information Education and Communication (IEC) must be framed to motivate the patients with ILI symptoms to immediately rush to hospital without delay, so that they may be provided with immediate treatment. This would help in timely treatment of the patients,” he said. The CM also said that isolation wards in Chamba, Hamirpur and Nahan Medical Colleges would start functioning from tomorrow and that this would also reduce the referral cases to IGMC Shimla, Dr RPMC, Tanda and LBSMC, Ner Chowk. “15-20 bed isolation facilities would be provided in each of these medical colleges to facilitate the patients. Apart from this, proper coordination between the administration and hospital authority must be maintained for proper functioning of the health institutions,” he said.

He added that a separate nodal officer would be appointed, if required, to ensure proper facilities and other arrangements for Covid patients and that in case of death of any Covid patient, steps must be taken for immediate handing over the body to the deceased’s family.