September 12th, 2021: In a concerted attempt to alleviate the impact of COVID-19′ on Sri Lankans, pioneering private healthcare provider Nawaloka Hospitals recently introduced a post-COVID care center (PCCC) fully geared to provide comprehensive multidisciplinary care and psychosocial resources for patients recovering from COVID-19′. Launched as a part of the hospital’s well-known chest and sleep unit, the novel initiative was introduced to ensure that at-risk COVID-19′ patients are monitored, supported and treated to avoid succumbing to critical post-recovery complications.
With the rapid advancement of the virus across the country, a large number of people are currently in recovery. While most recover completely from the disease with a few weeks, numerous other COVID-19 patients continue to experience symptoms long after their initial recovery. This may include patients having difficulty in breathing, excessive sweating and weight loss, cough, loss of appetite, feelings of constant tire and depression, and persistent cough long after testing negative for the virus.
Further, emerging evidence suggests some patients are also at risk for multiple systemic complications such as thromboembolic disease, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, cardiovascular complications, and hepatic and renal impairment. There is also an identified disparity in outcomes for different patient groups, identifying older age, chronic illness, and obesity.
“Nawaloka Hospitals has always been on a mission to take care of the immediate health needs of Sri Lankans, and post-COVID care is a rapidly mounting need with the steep increase in the number of infected patients. Right now, there’s also an ever-growing group that gets sick and stays sick. So our team is always clocked in to ensure that all COVID-19 patients at risk for acute post-COVID syndrome have timely and affordable access to the comprehensive, expert care they need to recover fully from this increasingly complex disease. Our goal is to address their needs effectively in an environment where precision, patient-centered care is paramount,” remarked Nawaloka Hospitals, Post-COVID Care Centre Resident Chest Physician, Dr. Riaz Mowjood.
The Nawaloka post-COVID care centre offers holistic screening packages, which include the care and support of a respiratory chest specialist, comprehensive portfolio of lab tests, lung functioning test, CT Scan, X-ray, and a treadmill test. Further, each patient will be supported with nutritional counselling, medical guidance, physiotherapy, and mental health counselling to accelerate and sustain their journey of healing. Patients can call +94770121919 for more information.
With a strong drive to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, Nawaloka Hospitals operates four world class, fully-geared Intermediary Care Centres with ICU facilities by partnering with several star class hotels, to offer a total capacity of 900 beds. The hospital also offers in-house treatment for COVID-19 patients in one of their isolated wings. To date, the hospital had treated over 7500 COVID-19′ patients. Further, in a bid to increase the accessibility of COVID-19 diagnostics to a large proportion of Sri Lankans, the hospital chain has extended the reach of its testing facilities, with island-wide sample collection centres in primary locations such as Colombo, Negombo, Galle/Karapitiya, Wennapuwa, Weligama, Gampaha, Seeduwa, amongst others.