COVID-19 telephone service set up

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COVID-19 telephone service set up

4:24 CAT | 25 May 2020

Photo: O País

The Ministry of Health, through the Mozambique Medical Emergencies Service (SEMMO) has set up a telephone exchange in Maputo specifically to receive calls about the Covid-19 pandemic.

The initiative seeks to reduce the number of people going in person to the health units because they suspect they may have Covid-19. The health professionals answering the phones will provide information and guidance about the symptoms of Covid-19.

Calls to this switchboard (on number 110) are free of charge. It is installed inside the Mavalane General Hospital in Maputo, and the Health Ministry hopes to open similar exchanges in Beira and Nampula. The initiative cost 100,000 US dollars, financed by the international partners of the Ministry.

Initially six doctors will be on hand, working in shifts, to answer the phones. They are expected to receive 2,000 calls a day, to clarify doubts about Covid-19, and to explain the symptoms. They can also receive complaints about people who have broken quarantine or home isolation, and are endangering others.

At the inauguration of the exchange on Monday, Deputy Health Minister Lidia Cardoso said this initiative complements a range of activities in the government’s plan of response to Covid-19.

“This platform will strengthen the component of information and education of users, as well as guide Covid-19 patients about the care they should take while in home isolation”, she said. “SEMMO will ensure screening and counselling through phone calls, in order to set in motion the appropriate means of assistance”.

The exchange, Cardoso added, will allow the pre-hospital and hospital system to operate in an integrated way from epidemiological surveillance, through the telephone screening, to intensive care, providing valuable information for public health activities during the pandemic.

Source: AIM