Bridging the gap; every district in Punjab got a bureaucrat to track Covid patient
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in/ Chandigarh
In order to impart quality health treatment to every COVID positive patient, the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder led Punjab Government has deputed 22 IAS, IFS and PCS Officers as COVID Patient Tracking Officers (CPTOs).
Giving the details, Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said that amid increasing number of COVID cases in the state, the state government has designated these officers as CPTOs to ensure coordination and expeditious response at the district level by tracking of patients from the time that they test positive till the completion of their treatment. These officers would perform their role as CTPOs in addition to their current duties and will report to the Deputy Commissioners concerned.
Palavi, IAS, Chief Administrator Amritsar Dev. Authority, Aaditya Dachalwal, IAS, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Barnala, Paramvir Singh, IAS, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Bathinda, Poonam Singh, PCS, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Faridkot, Harbhajan Singh, District Child Security Officer, Fatehgarh Sahib, Barinder Singh District Social Justice & Empowerment Officer, Fazilka, Kanwardeep Singh, IFS, Sakatar Singh Bal, PCS, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Gurdaspur, Balbir Raj Singh, PCS, Commissioner Municipal Corporation, Hoshiarpur, Navneet Kaur Bal, PCS, Estate Officer Jalandhar Dev. Authority, Jalandhar, Paviter Singh, PCS, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Phagwara, Sandeep Kumar, IAS, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Ludhiana, Sagar Setia, IAS, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Budhlada, Kuldeep Kumar, District Registrar Co-operative Societies, Moga, Gagandeep Singh, PCS, Extra Assistant Commissioner (U.T), Sri Muktsar Sahib, Nidhi Kumud Bambah, PCS, Sub Divisional Magistrate Dharkalan, Preeti Yadav, IAS, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Patiala, Mrs Monika Yadav, IFS, District Forest Officer (Wild Life) Roopnagar, Ravjot Grewal, IPS, SP (Rural), SAS Nagar, Aditya Uppal, IAS, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), SBS Nagar, Vidhya Sagari, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Sangrur and Amanpreet Singh, Extra Assistant Commissioner (U.T.), Tarn Taran have been designated as CPTOs for their respective districts.
Besides, ensuring he/she receives details of each positive COVID patient as soon as the result is declared by the Lab, the Chief Secretary said that CPTO should also follow up with the labs to ensure that there is no undue delay in sharing of the results and will get in touch with the positive COVID patient immediately. The CPTO shall ensure that each positive patient is brought to the nearest health facility through RRTs/Health Teams so that their medical condition can be assessed, and the future course of treatment can be finalized.
If a person is asymptomatic and without any co-morbidity- he is referred for CCC or Home Isolation (subject to his fulfilling the criteria laid down by Health Department). The patient may also get admitted, if he so wishes to a suitable private hospital. If a person is symptomatic or has a co-morbidity- referral to Level-II facility (Government/Private). If he/she is in critical condition, he/she is immediately shifted to Level-III facility (Government/Private).
Divulging details about roles and responsibilities of CPTOs, Vini Mahajan said that the CPTO shall be authorized to exercise their judgment and incur any expenditure required to save lives in consultation with the DC. For example, for the use of private ambulance or private treatment facility, if essential. However, ordinarily only Government ambulances and Government treatment facilities shall be utilized.
The CPTO should have full list of availability of beds in CCCs (Covid Care Centre), Government Hospitals and Private Hospitals as well as a list of availability of beds and ventilators for LEVEL-III Treatment, she said, adding that the CPTO should have details of ambulance service providers-private and government sector. The CPTO should have good coordination with his counterparts in adjoining districts for any emergency referrals/requirements.
The Chief Secretary stressed that the CPTO shall ensure that each patient under home isolation is tele-monitored on a daily basis. RRTs should visit the patients as and when required. The telephone number of the District Control Room should be shared with the patient in case of any emergency referral. All such referrals should be properly recorded and reported to the CPTO.
According to the orders that CPTO should be well conversant with health protocols for Level-I/ Level-II/ Level-III/ Cremation Protocol in case of death. He should regularly attend the meetings of medical experts held under the chairmanship of Dr. Talwar. The CPTO shall ensure that, in case of death of a COVID positive patient the Cremation/burial is done as soon as possible as per the state protocol.
The CPTO may appoint area-wise Sector Officers to facilitate them and keep a track of all positive cases in his reporting area. The CPTO shall ensure real time updation of the Patient Tracking System being developed by Department of Health and Family Welfare.
July,30,2020
