The district administration, with the help of the Jharkhand chapter’s Indian Medical Association (IMA), has lined up a team of 17 doctors to give virtual consultation to whose who need it through WhatsApp during the extended lockdown.
As Covid-19 rages on, outdoor services of government and private hospitals in the city have been suspended so that people don’t crowd hospitals. Even the largest government-run hospital, RIMS, opened an e-OPD earlier this month, suspending its normal OPD services till the crisis tides over. Hence, Ranchi district administration and the IMA have from Thursday onwards made doctors available for free consultation over WhatsApp.
These include paediatrician Dr Rajesh Kumar (9431346222), physicians Dr Gautam Maitra (9431328494) and Dr Sanjay Singh (9835111227), gynecologists Dr Beauty Banerjee (9431382368), Dr Rashmi Prasad (9308522892), Dr Anupam Singh (8340331156) and Dr Tanushree Chakravorty (8292237077), skin specialists Dr Y.A. Lal (9470139545), Dr Anant Sinha (9431109615), surgeons Dr Mahesh Singh (9835166143), Dr R.S. Das (9431115482) and Dr Sambhu Prasad Singh (9334308256), psychiatrist Dr Pawan Kumar Barnwal (8002824078), ENT specialist Dr Abhishek Ramadhin (7506018245) and Dr Harsh Kumar (8674934798), eye specialists Dr Bibhuti Kashyap (6260863435) and Dr Nidhie Gadkar Kashyap (9428051802).
Except Dr Bibhuti and Dr Nidhie, whose consultation hours are from 11am to 3pm, and Dr Harsh Kumar, whose timings are from 10am to 1pm, all the others will give their consultations for two hours from noon to 2pm.
Vice-president of the Ranchi unit of the IMA, Dr Bharti Kashyap, a noted ophthalmologist, said the team of doctors started working from Thursday.
“The response has been good, on the first day itself, 271 were given consultations,” she said. “Baring one or two, most of the people had genuine problems and the doctors concerned gave them proper advice,” Dr Kashyap said. She appealed to people to call up in case of genuine problems and abstain from prank calls.
The problems were varied, she said.
Physician Dr Maitra got an interesting query from a man who was worried about gaining tremendous weight, around 106kg, during the lockdown, and asked how he could lose the kilos.
Dr Anant Sinha said he got around 22 calls on Thursday and 14 on Friday. “Most wanted guidance, many were diabetics with skin problems. Some of them would not disclose their names or place of residence.”