On-ground health workers in Doaba march on to conduct surveys, identify contacts
In the battle against coronavirus, the contribution and commitment of state health department’s on-ground workers has been immense across Doaba. These employees include the auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) and primary and multipurpose health workers. They have been working across villages, some of them sealed, to trace the contact history of positive patients by door-to-door surveys and to monitor persons who have been home quarantined. With SBS Nagar reporting 19 cases so far, they are often racing against time too.
COMMITTED TO BREAKING VIRUS CHAIN
Nirmala Devi, ANM, posted at the health centre at Pathlawa village in SBS Nagar, the home of the state’s first coronovirus victim, Baldev Singh, was posted here in 1997. Her local knowledge helped in tracing down all close contacts. “I am committed to breaking down the chain of virus. We are working for the betterment of the society, even as we know of the risks,” she says. On life at home after a 12-hour work day, she says, “I isolate myself at home. I am a single mother and thus have to cook for kids and other family members, which is also a risk.”
Her colleague, Parmila Devi, who has conducting door-to-door surveys with another senior staff member Balwinder Kaur, said the work involves preparing 12 types of reports. “We try to extract the maximum information about positive patients and their contacts,” Devi said, adding that she too is isolating herself at home.
‘WORKING AS A TEAM CRITICAL’
At Bharowal sub-centre in SBS Nagar, Jaswinder Singh, 38, a multipurpose health worker, who had a leg amputated in 2009, has been tasked with monitoring home quarantined people. “We are working as a team and visiting 30 houses a day for follow-up,” said Jaswinder.
At Virk village in Phillaur sub-division, Jalandhar, where five positive cases were reported, the entire 4,000-population was surveyed for contacts of the patients.
Avtar Chand 54, the multi-purpose supervisor (MPS), part of the four-member door-to-door survey in Virk village says, “I, along with team comprising another MPS, ANM and anganwadi worker traced three relatives of Baldev Singh after conducting a survey with the help of local gram panchayat.”
Kuldeep Verma, 48, another MPS, in the village, said, “It is a risky job. Our field survey and awareness campaign starts at 10am. The village is also sanitised daily. The biggest challenge is that most people are unaware and if we identify a suspected patient, they and their family members do not cooperate.”