Centurion University of Technology and Management has set up an exclusive Centurion COVID-19 hotline that acts as an interface between a team of medical experts and patients from the states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Patients can call either 9059810827 or 9337191210 for a COVID-19 consultation. The hotline is manned by two doctors, 10 professors and 50 students of health and related courses who provide quick service to patients by collecting basic data on their health status.
Questions are asked about active symptoms such as fever, body pain, cough, cold, sore throat, shortness of breath, pulse rate, and oxygen levels. Details of vaccinations, medications, and medical test reports are recorded in a prescribed format.
The information so collected is passed on to doctors, who in turn would provide appropriate advice to patients. People whose symptoms are in an advanced state are recommended to go to a nearby hospital with oxygenated beds. The hotline tells you how many beds are free in each hospital in the region and advises patients accordingly.
“Almost all of the major hospitals in the North Andhra region inform us every hour. This is a great benefit for patients as they don’t have to walk from one hospital to another asking about the availability of beds and oxygen. Making the most of this precious golden hour will help clinicians save patients’ lives, ”said DN Rao, vice president of Centurion University.
Vice Chancellor GSN Raju and Registrar CV Gopinath were in constant contact with state and private hospitals in Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam for accurate information on bed availability.
Patients who have given their details will be informed about nearby hospitals. “We will operate this special COVID-19 hotline for at least three months. It has also become something of a learning module for students of health and related courses. The hotline makes them understand their responsibility and the importance of crisis management, ”said Dr. Gopinath.