Odisha: Spike in demand for home nurses amid crisis
Helping hand
BHUBANESWAR: The surge in Covid cases are seeing a large number of patients getting treated in home isolation. With family members feeling scared lest they catch the virus, demand for home nurses has gone up significantly over the past one month. Organisations which provide home nurses said there is shortage even as daily remuneration has increased by 20% in view of the risks involved.
“On a single day I got over 600 calls for home nurses. The situation is really bad and people are in a state of panic. Many are ready to book in advance for patients who are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals,” said Rashmi Ranjan Mallik, founder of Tech Tricks Home Care.
“Currently we are providing service to 20 patients in home quarantine in the city. Our nurses are attending to patients in three shifts and taking care of all their needs. In view of the spike in demand, we have started the process of hiring at least 100 trained nurses,” Mallik added.
The charge for home nurses ranges from Rs 3000 to Rs 12,000 per day and varies from organisation to organisation. The remuneration of the nurses include price of PPE kit and Covid accessories, food and transportation. The nurses look after oxygen management, home ICU set-up, administer injection, give them food and take care of other needs.
During the second wave there is a huge demand for nurses compared to last year. “We have been getting plenty of requests for home nurses for Covid patients. We are engaging nurses who are ready to attend to Covid patients. We are providing all safety equipment like PPE kit, masks, gloves, head and foot covers and also giving them multi-vitamins and immunity-boosting food to keep them safe,” said Snehanjali Rout, manager of a home-nursing organisation.
The nurse are not only attending to patients but also making arrangements for doctor on call, consultation over WhatsApp and telemedicine facilities, home delivery of medicines, testing facility at home as well as providing cooked food.
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