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‘Global Hub Covid Hospital working with 30% staff’
The recent confusion about patient’s identities at the newly set-up Covid hospital at Global Hub in Balkum, Thane has brought to the fore the dearth of manpower
The recent confusion about patient’s identities at the newly set-up Covid hospital at Global Hub in Balkum, Thane has brought to the fore the dearth of manpower in the hospital. While the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is increasing the number of beds in their jurisdiction, there is limited number of medical staffers in the city. The dearth of staffers is adding pressure on those who are currently on duty. Global Hub Covid Hospital, a 1,024-bed facility, currently has patients in 50% of total beds while the manpower is mere 30% of the total requirement.
The city recorded 410 new positive cases and 17 deaths on Wednesday, taking total cases to 11,308 and death toll to 430. The city has seen a sudden spike in cases since June, with the number of cases jumping from 3,271 on June 1 to 11,308 on July 8.
The hospital has been in news this week following a mix-up about a patient’s identity wherein a family was informed that the patient was dead while he was actually seeking treatment.
The deficit of manpower is making it harder for the current medical staff. “We are working in shifts and have a lot of patients to attend to. It becomes physically and mentally exhausting as we have to be in PPE kits through the shift. Around 680 beds in the hospital are occupied at present. On some days we have to extend our shift timings to be able to check on all patients,” said a doctor at Balkum’s Global Hub Covid Hospital.
Apart from doctors, the hospital is also in need of more staffers including receptionist, nurse and ambulance drivers. In view of this, TMC has sought help from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to get additional doctors for the hospital.
Dr Dinkar Desai, president, IMA Thane Chapter, said, “The Global Hub facility at present has 75 doctors while the requirement is of around 150 doctors. We are coming up with two more Covid facilities consisting a total of 1,500 beds for which 300 more doctors will be needed for smooth management.”
He added there are around 200 doctors working with private hospitals across Thane city while civic hospitals have 30 doctors and another 100 doctors are part of the Thane Rapid Action Team.
Eknath Shinde, guardian minister of Thane, said they are working to meet the requirement. “The Indian Medical Association’s Thane Chapter provided us with additional 50 physicians and 7 intensivists from Monday onwards. We have also asked all general practitioners to start their clinics to help ease the load on Covid hospitals. The doctors will also be provided with all necessary care if they contract the virus,” he added.
TMC, on the other hand, said the situation was manageable. “Although there has been a spike in positive cases, most of them only require isolation at Covid care facilities. Hence, we are able to manage with the current medical staff. However, it is true that we are making provisions to rope in additional medical staff and infrastructure facilities,” said Sandeep Malvi, deputy municipal commissioner.
