Gleneagles Global Health City’s Paediatric Task Force Ramps Up Their Preparation To Battle Covid-19 Surge

5th January, 2022, Chennai: The Paediatric Task Force at Gleneagles Global Health City (GGHC) is gearing up to handle COVID-19 cases, especially among children, in the aftermath of increased incidences of Omicron variant. The team has been closely monitoring the trends in other parts of the world & other Indian cities and ramping up their preparation as a precautionary measure to handle the most vulnerable patient population as they are not vaccinated yet.

Being the only hospital in Chennai to have a multi-disciplinary team of Paediatricians, comprising a full time Paediatric Intensivist and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist along with a General Paediatrician, the level of preparedness and expertise to combat the situation is high.

The task force at GGHC is headed by Dr Perumal Karnan, Senior Consultant & Clinical Lead – Department of Paediatrics along with Dr Shreela Sherine Pauliah, Senior consultant – Department of Neonatology, Dr Mohan Babu Kasala, Consultant – Paediatric Intensivist, Dr Penne Sivaprakasam, Senior Consultant – Paediatric Haematologist and Dr J Rajkumar, Consultant – Paediatric Infectious Diseases. We have also identified a dedicated area to deal with Paediatric COVID cases.

Leading the task force, Dr Perumal Karnan, Senior Consultant & Clinical Lead – Department of Paediatrics, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai said, “We have observed a striking increase in paediatric hospital admissions for Covid-19 across the world. This has given us a chance to prepare ourselves for the third wave. With the current hike in Covid-19 cases in the city, a disturbing impact on unvaccinated children is possible.”

To address the high risk group, the Paediatric Task Force at GGHC has initiated the following measures –

1. Devising Paediatric treatment protocols
2. Retraining staff to handle Paediatric patients
3. Incorporating screening protocols for Paediatric age group
4. Formulating age group based plans as younger kids may need parents to stay with them
5. Steps to prevent the entire family from getting infected as children tend to be close with the entire family

Additionally, GGHC is also preparing to commence the vaccination drive for 15-18 years shortly. With the rise in the number of cases and with schools and colleges reopening, vaccination for students is the need of the hour.

As part of the preventive measures to fight rising cases of Covid-19 across the city, GGHC will start rolling out the precautionary doses for healthcare workers and for people above 60 years of age with co-morbidities as defined by Government of India.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Alok Khullar, CEO, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, said, “The 2nd wave of Covid-19 was hard-hitting and has taught us to be ready for the upcoming variants. In these critical times, we feel responsible and committed to support the government’s effort to achieve 100% vaccination. Seeing the situation in the 2nd wave, we had launched a Paediatric Task Force to tackle the paediatric cases. The task force consists of doctors from across a wide range of paediatric specialties that will only focus on paediatric covid care. We have excellent evidence-based protocols in place to ensure that all our patients get to experience world-class treatment and excellent clinical outcomes.”

About Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai:

Gleneagles Global Health City at Perumbakkam, Chennai is one of India’s most renowned multi-organ transplant centre. It’s also one of the top tertiary care multi-speciality hospitals in the city with path-breaking Liver, Neuro, Heart, Lung and Kidney procedures to its credit and legacy. The NABH, NABL and NABB accredited hospital operates 200+ beds. A modern CathLab, 13 operation theatres, advanced imaging services (Trubeam STX, Slice PET CT and Tesla MRI) offer cutting edge emergency and critical care management following internationally approved clinical protocols.

Over 10 years of clinical excellence has earned the hospital tie-ups with all major cashless health insurance players and is the preferred choice hospital by all major corporates in the city. The hospital is an international medical destination for thousands of patients in India, Middle East, Africa and SAARC nations. The hospital also offers VideoConsult services to its patients in India and abroad.

Gleneagles Global Health City is a part of IHH Healthcare, one of the world’s largest healthcare providers. With its full spectrum of integrated services, dedicated people, reach and scale, and commitment to quality and safety, IHH aspires to be the world’s most trusted healthcare services network, united by a single purpose: to touch lives and transform care. More information on Gleneagles Global Health City can be found at hospital website

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