‘Fever clinic’ in Abu Dhabi receives 250 patients a day
ABU DHABI — Residents are flocking to ‘fever clinics’ that were set up outside some hospitals in Abu Dhabi recently. One such clinic in the heart of the city — outside LLH Hospital — is receiving more than 250 patients a day.
The clinics were set up outside VPS Healthcare hospitals – Burjeel, Medeor, LLH and Lifecare. They screen patients for symptoms of Covid-19.
At clinic outside LLH, crowds of mostly workers line up from early hours. Due to the excess flow of people, an additional facility has now been opened. There is an initial registration and screening of people, where temperature and vital signs are checked and questions asked to ascertain the seriousness of the case. Those needing further checkups are referred to the main clinic.
“We are offering full support to the government and health authorities in fighting the coronavirus infection. Hence this fever clinic was started last week. We have 15 dedicated staff working in two shifts. People are coming here with fever, sore throat, cough and severe body pain, which are all main symptoms of Covid-19,” Dr Padmanabhan, deputy medical director, LLH Hospital, said on Tuesday.
‘We are climbing the curve’
In the main clinic, there are three doctors, nurses and a phlebotomist to take nasal swabs and conduct further investigations.
“We are getting 250 patients a day. This is a huge number compared to the number in the general OPD. The trend we are seeing is that the number of infections is increasing. We are climbing the curve. But I feel soon we will reach the plateau as the number will stabilise,” said Dr Padmanabhan.
“The fever clinic also provides medicines. We ask people to be under strict home quarantine. Once the results are ready, we inform patients. If anyone is found to be positive, necessary actions are immediately taken,” Dr Padmanabhan added.