24 hour access to medical advice

Love the One Direct - 24hr Medical Helpline

By training the carers in basic child health (see Health Education & Training) we hope that the majority of the children who become sick will be able to be managed competently by the carers themselves. If the child remains unwell or the carer is unsure what to do then they will have access, via the telephone for further management advice.

Love the One Direct was first initiated to meet the ongoing medical needs of the children cared for in homes in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is now being established in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgar and Orissa.

The aim is to train up local health workers in more advanced child health care using a simplified version of the WHO’s Integrated management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines.

Step 1: After phoning the helpline, the carer receives reassurance and further advice over the telephone in their own language.

Step 2: In more serious cases if a doctor’s advice is needed, the phone call will be relayed to the paediatrician on call.

• If the child needs hospital admission, the name of an appropriate local hospital and doctor will be passed on to the carer. By developing good local medical links the carers will be able to access the appropriate in-hospital care that is provided for them in their country.
• If there is no hospital nearby, Love the One aims to go to the child directly for further medical assistance to be given.

Love the One Direct has proved to be very popular and we are now hoping to expand the Indian team over the next 12 months to provide an effective service with weekly phone review clinics as follow-up.