The clinic has so far seen over 20 patients from Delhi as well as cities such as Aligarh, Agra, Moradabad and Mohali

From Mohali to Delhi, patients are calling the first of its kind post-Covid clinic set up at Delhi government’s Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital to seek guidance on the several health ailments they are facing after recovering from Covid-19.

In the two days since it became operational, the clinic, which aims to support Covid patients who have recovered from the illness, has responded to over 20 patients from Delhi as well as cities such as Aligarh, Agra, Moradabad and Mohali, who are keen to know the medications for post-Covid issues.

“So far, most of these patients are complaining about breathlessness, mild exertion, weakness, and fatigue. Patients feel that their quality of life is getting compromised as they are unable to get into their regular routine,” said Dr Ajeet Jain, nodal officer of the clinic at the hospital.

The concept of a post-Covid clinic was initiated when, as a regular policy, the hospital administration started contacting patients who had already recovered from the virus, and were informed that they are facing various issues. According to officials, the clinic is in line with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s vision of providing a helping hand to patients who have recovered. The government is also providing oxygen concentrators to patients who are facing issues in maintaining the oxygen saturation levels even after getting discharged from the hospital.

The clinic has a waiting area alongside the registration counter and centres for counseling, physiotherapy and yoga. It also has a consultation chamber with an OPD set-up wherein services such as pulmonology, cardiology, psychiatry and neurology are offered. There is also a sample collection area where blood samples, ECG and, if required, investigations like EEG or PFT are conducted.

“We are also learning and understanding the pattern of treatment. This will help us in anticipating the situation and devise a strategy accordingly. Since there is no defined treatment for Covid worldwide, everyone is improvising the techniques. The post-Covid observation will also help us in altering the present treatment for Covid patients,” said Dr Jain.

The Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital has discharged around 1,500 patients and the doctors are calling each of them to follow-up. “This will help us have definite data on the impact of Covid on the human body. Through this clinic, maybe after a month, we might be able to analyse the data which can act as a base for the future treatment,” said Dr B L Sherwal, medical director of the hospital.

Delhi recorded 1,412 fresh coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the infection tally to 1,60,016, while the death toll rose to 4,284.

In the last 24 hours, the city reported 14 more deaths due to Covid-19.

According to the Delhi government’s health bulletin, a total of 19,435 tests — 6,090 RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 13,345 rapid antigen tests — have been conducted in the last 24 hours.

So far 14,12,363 Covid-19 tests have been conducted in Delhi while the number of tests per million population stands at 74,334 in the capital. The positivity rate stands at 7.26 per cent while the recovery rate is 90.07 per cent.