Living up to its tagline as the lifeline of the people, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has set up a hotline to assist persons with concerns about the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.
People with questions about the dreaded disease can dial PRC’s COVID-19 hotline 1158. Since its inception last week, the hotline has attended to 128 calls, mostly were queries about COVID-19 symptoms and when to seek treatment or hospitalization.
Trained volunteers are handling the calls and providing information aligned with the messaging of the Department of Health and the World Health Organization. A volunteer doctor is always on standby and ready to provide medical advice to callers.
PRC also recognizes the toll on mental health brought by the threat of the coronavirus. The hotline addresses this through the help of a volunteer social worker who is ready to attend to callers needing psychosocial support. Tracing and restoring family links associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is also part of the hotline’s services.
“In these challenging times, we need to calm the people,” PRC Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard Gordon says. “We need to attend to their physical, emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual needs. The Philippine Red Cross is here to listen and together we can beat COVID-19,” he adds.
The COVID-19 hotline 1158 is also PRC’s way to dispel misinformation, rumours, and myths about the disease as well as alleviate fears.
More importantly, it provides a filter to help decongest hospitals because people can call the hotline first to seek for medical advice if hospital admission is necessary. (PRC)
