YMCA varsity sets up Covid help desk

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, May 5

JC Bose University of Science and Technology, YMCA, Faridabad, has set up a ‘Covid-19 help desk’ (https://jcboseust.ac.in/content/covid_desk) to provide a common resource platform for Covid patients and those who can help them.

Revealing this, a university official said the database -enabled project had been launched with the help of a dedicated team of over 200 student volunteers. The team will assist critically ill patients with Covid by arranging them medical facilities such as medicines, plasma, oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, ICU beds and ventilators. VC Prof Dinesh Kumar said the Covid-19 help desk was a meaningful initiative to integrate and meet the demand and supply arising due to increasing number of patients and when the infection rate had been one of the highest. “There may be many in society who wish to help needy patients, but are helpless to reach them due to lack of a proper platform,” he said adding that the varsity has recently introduced the oxygen refilling management system to benefit those looking for refilling of oxygen cylinder for those patients recovering at homes. He said a total of over 1,500 inquires had already been received or resolved at this platform.

Dr Neelam Duhan, director of computer centre and digital affairs of the university, said that the platform had been developed in a way that a person with need could submit his or her requirement, and a person with resources could submit the availability to meet such requirements. The university has also been approaching various social organisations, NGOs and local administration to join the initiative so as to reach out and arrange maximum resources for the needy patients, she said. The help desk is being updated in real time and anyone with verified leads regarding resources like oxygen cylinders, beds, home ICUs and ventilators can submit the details on it.

Meanwhile, Shri Vishwakarma Skills University (SVSU), Palwal, has also released a helpline number (1800-1800-147) for tele-consultation in connection with the availability of beds (with ventilators, oxygen), plasma donors, oxygen cylinder, testing facilities, ambulances and availability of doctors and hospitals in the region.