Doctors on call helpline set up
A national Covid-19 “Doctors on Call” Helpline has been set up to provide free medical advice to South Africans.
IN response to the global viral pandemic, a national medical support hotline has been launched to assist South Africans, as the number of confirmed cases in the country increases.
Supported by Nedbank, the KwaZulu-Natal Doctors Healthcare Coalition (KZNDHC), Usizo Advisory Solutions and Vula have championed an urgent private sector response from primary health care doctors to provide a ‘Doctors on Call’ hotline to all South Africans.
Callers pay the normal cost of a call but don’t pay to talk to the doctor.
Doctors on Call offers a Covid-19 medical helpline, established to provide support and immediate advice to concerned callers.
The service operates on weekdays from 8am until 5pm and is manned by a dedicated unit of doctors.
Administered by a call centre, all phone calls are received by a trained call centre agent, screened and then routed for a telephonic consultation with a doctor, for advice related to Covid-19.
Coovadia said doctors have been trained according to the national health guidelines standard operating processes and provide advice according to the NICD regulations.
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All calls are documented and reported using the Vula app. Referrals are made to the NICD for testing and results are captured on the Vula app.
This data collection is vital in tracking both spread of virus and particular outbreak areas.
All data collection is done in line with the NICD requirements.
All COVID related data will be stored by the NICD after the pandemic is over and studied to look for patterns that may assist if a similar event happens in the future.
When to call: You have symptoms of coronavirus, you have travel history and feel you might be exposed, you have been in contact via any other means, you want additional information about coronavirus.
Doctors on Call: 087 0550 234.
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