It is quite evident to see the disastrous Coronavirus taking tolls on our minds and several other lives around the world. Given the scenario, people are looking around for basic medical facilities with the healthcare system being over crashed by patients with their concerns about them or their loved ones. What if there was a platform to remove these hurdles and make it easier for one to get what you require? This mind-bending initiative is taken by a group of citizens backed up by doctors answering your queries: Mysore Covid Support.
Established in May 2021, this web-cum-app platform has an accessible approach to any patient who needs the required facility. Patients can easily select through the options that may include services of ambulances, pharmacies, scanning centres, hospitals which will be guided by the doctors or the volunteers.
The doctor and the man behind the initiative Dr. Abhishek, from KR Hospital, Mysuru says “We are already on COVID duty. But a lot of patients reached out to us and said that they were unable to get the resources easily. “
The team has collected all the required data, with most of them being doctors initially backed by volunteers. The doctor said that around 10 – 15 people had contributed to the cause in the beginning. “It’s a web-cum-app where it opens on your web like an app interface. The patients can directly call or text, and have also receive requests for available beds and groceries.”
The team made a list of all the required resources that were available through Google search or through platforms such as Facebook. Each contact was verified carefully to be updated on the platform which gets reviewed on a daily basis. “We get around 80 – 90 calls per day. I direct them to the places where they can get their requirements from.”
The platform personnel are handled by Dr. Abhishek or another doctor as patients can have health-related queries at times, which requires counselling. “I happened to see this initiative in Hyderabad, where they followed a similar thing in a manner similar to this platform. I had no idea if it would work out or not, so I watched some tutorials online and got it made through a platform called Glyde. We started the platform around May 13, when 10 – 15 people would visit. Now it has reached around 3.5 lakh visits.”
The team has got a few volunteers and software professionals who have further helped develop the platform. They have also teamed up with an NGO called Helping Hand.
Helping Hand is an NGO based in Mysuru, who has teamed up with Dr. Abhishek by calling the concerned department with regard to beds or essential services. He adds that almost all resources are valid, while only one or two might switch off their phones or temporarily be out of service. Ambulance and oxygen supplies are the most dynamic ones, which keeps changing according to the time. Dr. Abhishek says that this platform would shorten your time and get the necessary resources easily, including medicines.
The platform has operates in Kannada to make it easier and accessible. He also adds that, “A few people cannot really access these. Maybe they do not have smartphones or do not know it. Hence, we have put up the details in this manner, so that more people know that they can seek help.”
