The Delhi State Aids Control Society (DSACS) has taken a leap in ensuring that awareness about HIV/AIDS is spread not only amongst the masses but also amongst the healthcare providers.  A special feature has been added in the existing helpline number 1097 for AIDS where doctors, nurses, paramedics and other healthcare workers can get information on the protocols they should follow while treating HIV positive patients.

Upon calling the helpline, the pre-recorded message will have ‘post-exposure profile access’ as option six. Under this, all healthcare workers can get information on how to treat HIV positive patients and how to prevent themselves from catching infection.

DSACS project director Faizi O Hashmi said, “The helpline now has a feature in which there is a special safety mechanism for doctors, nurses and paramedics. They form a very vulnerable group and are likely to catch infection, say by an accidental needle prick.”

The helpline also informs the caller what immediate steps to take in case the infection is caught on the job.  Delhi is the first state in India to have made the helpline people as well as service-provider friendly.