Too bad if you get sick and are admitted to a hospital which falls outside BMC limits
Too bad if you get sick and are admitted to a hospital which falls outside BMC limits
It pays to stay in the city. In a shocking example of BMC's step-motherly treatment, the civic body has refused to send swine flu test kits to hospitals outside Mumbai city limits.
Even as Mumbai got 18 swine flu testing centres, with the death toll at 17 and number of positive cases at 1,193 , neighbouring Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has had no help in dealing with their cases.
Not a single swine flu testing kit was sent to Wockhardt Hospital, Kalyan, for a 13-year-old patient with suspected swine flu.
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Rohit Dhalte from Shahad was brought to the hospital yesterday with an acute respiratory problem.
An official from the BMC's disaster management cell said, "We got a call from Wockhardt Hospital, but when we checked with health officers they didn't help.
We suggested that the boy be admitted to Mulund's M T Agarwal Hospital, but the authorities decided against it since a standby ventilator wasn't available."
Despite a surge in swine flu cases, KDMC continues to depend on Mumbai to tackle with the pandemic. Govind Rathod, commissioner, KDMC, said, "We are yet to get kits for sending swine flu samples to testing centres.
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Two positive cases have been reported here one is undergoing treatment at Kasturba, while the other is admitted to a Dombivli hospital. We will request the state government to send us a few kits."
Finally, Wockhardt managed to procure a swine flu testing kit from Haffkine Institute, Parel and have also kept Kasturba Hospital updated on Rohit's progress.
Doctor Mohd Nasim, centre head, Wockhardt Hospital, said that the test reports are awaited. "He is suffering from pneumonia.
There was no point in jeopardising the boy's health by shifting him to Kasturba," said Nasim. He added that officials at the Haffkine Institute are speeding up the testing process.
Thane better off
Meanwhile, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) seems to be prepared to treat swine flu cases.
Nandkumar Jhantre, Thane Municipal commissioner said, "We have started three screening centers and have civil hospitals ready to admit swine flu cases. Two positive cases from Thane are getting treatment in Kasturba Hospital."
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