For Covid survivors, Patiala's Rajindra Hospital opens recovery clinic

Tribune News Service
Patiala, October 27

Government Rajindra Hospital has opened an exclusive recovery clinic for Covid survivors. The objective is to treat patients suffering from acute as well as chronic post-Covid effects.

As soon as the OPD services were started last week, people who have recovered from Covid started visiting the hospital with complaints of breathlessness, chronic fatigue, chest pain, headache, dizziness and anxiety. The OPD will be open for two days in a week — Monday and Friday.

Dr Rajan Singla, principal, Government Medical College, said they had already started the recovery clinic to treat the Covid survivors, adding that the authorities would themselves call the recovered Covid patients for a check-up.

RPS Sibia, in charge, recovery clinic, said around 70 per cent of people complain of breathlessness, fatigue and joint pain. Besides, many also complaint of psychological problems, including sadness, mood swings and anxiety. Therefore, recovery clinics would have a specialist from the psychiatry department.

In view of the number of patients complaining of breathlessness, doctors have already installed a Spirometry machine to assess disorders pertaining to lungs.

Dr Vishal Chopra, specialist, chest and TB, said: “Firstly, we counsel patients to avoid activities which might aggravate their condition. However, if the difficulties still persist then we give them a course of steroids.”

Experts said Covid survivors should be extra cautious because they might suffer from stroke, breathing problems, fluctuations in o2 saturation, chronic fatigue along with anosmia. Therefore, the best way to prevent Covid complications was to avoid contracting the virus altogether.

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