The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Helpline at GH a boon for patients

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Friday, Nov 06, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Helpline at GH a boon for patients

R. Sujatha

Gastroenterology Department has been getting 30 calls a day

The mail id ghgastro@tn.gov.in provided for contacting specialists well received

Those calling from other parts of the State are referred to local government hospital

CHENNAI: The introduction of the mobile phone helpline at the Government General Hospital’s gastroenterology department last month has turned out to be a boon for patients. On the first day itself, the helpline received 150 calls.

Since then, everyday the department has been receiving 30 calls a day on an average. Though the number — 9444901234 — provided by the BSNL was meant for the patients seeking medical advice from gastroenterologists, quite a few callers want doubts about cancer in other parts of the body also cleared.

S. Chandramohan, head of the surgical gastroenterology department, who was instrumental in launching this service, said the email id provided for the purpose of getting in touch with the specialists had also been well received. The mail id is ghgastro@tn.gov.in.

Some of the mails were from Indians living abroad. The writers posed several question about the problems they and persons known to them were facing.

“Most of the problems pertain to GI [gastrointestinal] disorders and irritable bowel syndrome. They say they suffer from heartburn, reflux or poor appetite and seek clarification about GI cancers,” Dr. Chandramohan said. “We were very impressed with some of the questions they asked, particularly pertaining to cancers,” he said. Sometimes, the calls are from a person who had lost a dear one in the family to a GI disease. “They want to know the symptoms to check against their own complaints.

When we feel the symptoms warrant investigation, we suggest that they come to the outpatient department,” Dr. Chandramohan said.

Those calling with problems from other parts of the State are referred to the local government hospital.

The hospital has also tied up with Lakshmi Pain and Palliative Care, to provide palliative care to those requiring counselling. While at present the volunteer comes once a week and a postgraduate assists the volunteer, the service will soon be expanded, he said.

Postgraduate students monitoring mobile helpline also get to learn on the job.

S. Karthikeyan, a first-year student, said though most of the callers can be accessed through telephone, there have been instances when he had to call them back. “Sometimes when I do not know [the diagnosis] I tell them to give me their number. Those who do not have a phone provide local panchayat chief’s number. I get details from my chief and call them back,” Dr. Karthikeyan said.

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