Call 118! Switzerland helped to establish call centres in Kyrgyzstan to combat COVID-19

Local news, 12.05.2020

Seven call centres are being launched at Family Medicine Centres in all oblasts of Kyrgyzstan, starting from May 11 to provide remote, timely and qualified medical consultation on prevention of COVID-19 to the population of the country.

Call centres operate through the single information number - 118. Each call centre has 4 operators: 2 nurses and 2 trained residents, who work 12 hours per day: from 8:00 to 20:00.

Daily work of call centres © Swiss project "Medical Education Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic", 2020

Call centres have been launched in Chui and Naryn oblast. Within a week five other call centres will be opened in the other regions to operate throughout the country.

The main goal of the call centers is to reduce hospitalization related to COVID-19 by providing timely and qualified medical consultations to the population. Providing the population with accurate and comprehensive information about the coronavirus and symptom-based remote counselling are essential to reduce the number of visits to health facilities.

When receiving calls from people complaining about symptoms similar to coronavirus, the operators will make a rapid clinical assessment of the patient's condition according to the algorithm and transfer the information to the mobile teams. The mobile teams will then assess the epidemiological situation on site, perform COVID-19 test and hospitalize patients if necessary.

This work is carried out within the Swiss project "Medical Education Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic", which is aimed to ensure quality medical care to the Kyrgyz population provided by well-trained medical personnel. The Government of Switzerland has been financing the heath project since 2013.  

Local news, 19.05.2020

The Government of Switzerland through the Swiss project “Effective Management and Prevention of Non Communicable Diseases in Kyrgyzstan” is contributing to improve public awareness on preventive measures against COVID-19.

Video fragment © Swiss project "“Effective Management and Prevention of Non Communicable Diseases in Kyrgyzstan", 2020

 

The project since April 2020 has achieved the following:  

  • 400’000 persons living in rural municipalities were informed on preventive measures against COVID-19. The project jointly with Association of Village Health Committees created WhatsApp groups to disseminate information on preventive measures on COVID-19.  

  • 8’000 persons contributed to an online survey on public awareness on COVID-19 and protective measures. This information is being used to adjust the communication strategy. More than half of respondents answered that they need additional information on coronavirus infection.

  • Patients with diabetes, who belong to the most at risk group, were briefed on how to protect themselves against COVID-19. The project worked with the Endocrinology Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic and created a special online platform to help patients with diabetes. Clinical protocols on COVID-19 for family doctors were printed and disseminated.  

  • National and regional TV channels broadcasted TV programs on COVID-19 and protection measures for high-risk patients who suffered from a non-communicable disease. 

     

    All video materials of the project in Kyrgyz.

     

    Facebook page of the project