Accessibility and Management of Health Services in a Health Center During Pandemic: A Qualitative Case Study

Unprecedented pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, led to many millions being affected and hundred thousand dying as most of the national health systems lacked organized surveillance infrastructure, resources, and expertise to respond to devastating pandemic, since most of the countries failed to mount an effective response to contain the spread of this virus initially. Health centers played a significant role in gate keeping and clinical responses in identifying and triaging potential cases, ensuring early diagnosis, helping vulnerable people cope with their anxiety, and reducing the hospital demand. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized the role of Primary Care and provided interim guidance on the role of Primary Health Centre (PHC). The public healthcare services focus on delivering primary healthcare through community-level health programs mainly focusing on reducing mortality and morbidity caused by various communicable and non-communicable diseases. It follows a tiered system of infrastructure wherein basic health services are provided through sub-centers and primary health centers, while secondary and tertiary care is delivered at better equipped establishments. This is a qualitative study regarding accessibility and management of health services during pandemic at the Health Centre, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The study focuses on different challenges faced by medical professionals and its management. It revealed that outdoor patient services were well managed with 93% and overall satisfaction level was above 88%.