Apollo Group of Hospitals launched Post-COVID Recovery Clinics at all their hospitals across India. The clinics are for patients who have recovered from COVID19 but are still facing health issues. Reports and research say that a person once affected with COVID19 stands high chances of falling sick post recovery. Over 50% COVID19 patients suffer from problems that include breathlessness, chest pain and heart issues, joint pains, vision problems, and memory loss months after contracting the novel Coronavirus. It is also said that COVID-19 impacts almost all the vital organs in the body. Apart from acute events like stroke and myocardial infarction, chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension are also part of post Covid syndrome. A number of sudden deaths in post Covid patients have been reported and most of these are attributed to acute cardiac events.
The Post-COVID Recovery Clinics will address the rising number of patients who have recovered from COVID but are suffering from the mid and long term persistent effects of the infection. The clinics will be manned by a team of specialists including neurologists and immunologists to help patients deal with the aftermath of COVID-19 and restore them back to health.
In Kolkata, the Post-COVID Recovery Clinic will be set up at the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital. This initiative is especially beneficial for the City of Joy, where numbers are rising with every passing day, as more and more people are being affected.
Rana Dasgupta, CEO (Eastern Region), Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “Many patients who have recovered from COVID19 at our hospitals have been contacting us for symptoms that they are having, and did not know where to go for treatment. To address these health issues faced by patients who have recovered from COVID-19, we have started the Post-COVID Recovery Clinics. These exclusive clinics for post Covid care will help patients get specialised care that they need. We have laid down the guidelines and have trained the clinicians to ensure that patients get the right kind of treatment. The clinics will help patients recover completely from the consequences of COVID19 and return to life as before.”
Somnath Bhattacharya, vice-president (business development), Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata, said: “Before COVID19, we were already facing a tsunami of NCDs that were responsible for over 70% of the deaths. The post Covid syndrome is adding to the load and if not addressed with a special focus will lead to increase in morbidity and mortality beyond the pandemic with a large number of chronically ill individuals who have apparently recovered from COVID19. The specialised clinics will prevent acute components of the post Covid syndrome from progressing further and effectively manage the chronic situations which form part of the post Covid syndrome through a patient-focused, comprehensive, tele-consulting and clinic based program.”
The Post-COVID Recovery Clinics will initially be launched at Apollo hospitals which are engaged in treating COVID19 patients in Chennai, Madurai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mysore, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Delhi, Indore, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The clinics will be manned by a dedicated team consisting of a physician assisted by nurses. This has been initiated with the intention to give proper care to the patients who have recovered from COVID19 but are still in the phase of recovery from additional ailments caused by the virus in the body.
