Inform us about fever camps, say rural residents

Coimbatore: People in the rural areas in the district have urged the public health officials to inform them in advance about the fever camps in their localities. They said while many such camps were held in the past, they had missed most of them as they were unaware about the same.
Things are, however, different in the city corporation limits, where the civic body shares details of fever camp venues with the residents a day in advance. Hence, city residents don’t face much difficulty in making use of the camps.
While health officials plan fever camps based on the field survey on influenza-like illness, people in rural areas are often not communicated about the same. It is to be noted that more than 15 fever camps are organized in Thudiyalur block alone daily. But people are hardly informed about the camp venues.
S Ravindran, 60, a resident of Pannimadai, who was down with fever last week, said he had a tough time reaching the nearby primary health centre (PHC). “There was a fever camp in my locality that day. But I wasn’t aware of that. Had I known, I wouldn’t have travelled all the way to the PHC to get tested.”
A senior health official at Thudiyalur said panchayats were using public address systems to inform the public about the fever camps in their neighbourhood in the beginning of the second wave. It, he said, had helped many people consult doctors and give swabs for Covid testing, if necessary. “But it isn’t happening nowadays.”
P Aruna, deputy director of health services, Coimbatore, said panchayats were informing the residents about the fever camps. “If the message is not reaching people, adequate steps should be taken to convey the details of fever camps to them.”
She confirmed that the camps were conducted based on the door-to-door survey. “Fever camps are conducted in areas that have a high number of people with influenza-like illness to collect their swabs.”