CHENNAI: Ahead of an expected third wave, the Tamil Nadu chapter of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), in coordination with the state health department, is training nurses and doctors online to manage Covid-19 in children.
Nearly 10,000 staff nurses and 3,800 paediatricians in government and private hospitals across the state have received the training so far.
IAP, a body of paediatricians, aims at preparing close to 50,000 healthcare workers in the state before the onset of a third wave. The training programme has four modules — triaging, clinical management, prevention and overview of paediatric Covid. The program is being conducted free of cost.
K Rajendran, state secretary of IAP, said a majority of the nurses are hesitant to handle paediatric Covid cases as they are uncertain about the patient’s response to medicines. So, one main aspect of the programme is to train them on how to manage children and when to raise a red flag so that mortality will remain low.
"Another aspect is post-Covid complications. We are witnessing more Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) cases of late. For every 100 MIS-C cases, at least 60 need treatment in ICUs. So we need more paediatric ICUs with trained nurses," Rajendran said.
The IAP has formed a paediatric task force which will assist healthcare workers across the state in treating such cases. They are creating an online app which can provide data on the number of oxygen beds, ICU and doctors available in paediatric wards across the state. A MIS-C registry is also being prepared.
Welcoming this, Dr Balasubramanian, senior paediatrician from Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospital in Chennai, said with many Indian states planning to reopen schools, more children might become susceptible to infection. "We hope that this publicprivate initiative will ensure quality healthcare in not just tertiary, but primary and secondary levels too," he said.
The state government claimed that they have adequate ICU beds to handle a third wave and they have procured adequate quantities of drugs of choice such as Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) to treat MIS-C and paediatric Covid.
