Home isolation packages: A win-win situation for Covid patients, hospitals in Telangana

Hyderabad: Telangana has over 12,000 Covid positive patients who are recovering in home isolation and understandably there is a good demand for home isolation packages being offered by corporate hospitals in the twin-cities. Almost all hospitals have been offering these home packages for Covid treatment for mild and asymptomatic cases.

What is clinching the deal and ensuring a good number of patients enroll their names for these packages is an important condition being included in the package contents besides the customary consultation sessions by doctors and medical staff. All hospitals are assuring the package subscribers of sending ambulances to shift anyone who experiences breathing difficulties or whose health condition deteriorates during the treatment period.

"Each hospital is keeping five to 10 beds vacant and on standby to admit any home isolation package subscriber if at all they require immediate hospital admission and treatment. This assurance by hospitals as part of the package more or less put paid to their concerns about non-availability of beds or failing to get a hospital admission in case symptoms turn serious anytime," said an administration wing official of a corporate hospital in the IT corridor. He said that many software professionals testing positive in the Cyberabad area are subscribing to the home isolation packages and are relieved that they are under supervision of doctors every day.

These home isolation packages also helped in reduction in footfall of Covid positive patients which was the case till a couple of weeks ago. Earlier, mild symptomatic cases also used to rush to hospitals seeking admissions which led to bed crunch in most of them. Now only moderate to critical patients are being admitted to corporate hospitals while those coming with mild symptoms are put under home isolation.

The home isolation packages offered by various hospitals include online consultations with doctors, nurses, dietitian, physiotherapist, etc, besides giving devices like pulse oximeter, spirometer, digital thermometer as well as masks, sanitisers, gloves, disinfectants, waste disposal bags. The treatments start from Rs 5,000 onwards and goes up to nearly Rs 20,000 depending on 7-day or 14 or 17-day duration of the package. Some hospitals are offering the package as low as Rs 5,000 per 7 days sans devices and safety material which the customer had to take care.

From the last few days, the Telangana Health department has come forward to distribute home isolation kits to patients that comprise vitamin-C, B-complex, Zinc tablets, cloth masks, sanitisers, hand wash, gloves, sodium hypochlorite bottles, etc. A dedicated call centre is also arranged for them to call and speak to doctors about their health issues.