JJ hospital starts 17-bed ward for pollution-related illness

JJ Hospital in Mumbai has opened a 17-bed ward dedicated to air pollution-related ailments, in response to depleting air quality levels in the city. The ward will be functional under the pulmonary medicine department of the hospital, and respiratory medicine physicians are expecting a surge in respiratory disorders triggered by air pollution after Diwali. The health department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has also held a meeting to discuss a mitigation plan for air pollution-related illnesses.

Mumbai: Three days after the state health department appointed JJ Hospital as one of the 17 hospitals in the state to implement ‘sentinel surveillance’ for acute respiratory illnesses (ARI), the hospital started a 17-bed ward dedicated to air pollution-related ailments.

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“The ward is started keeping in mind the depleting air quality levels in the city and the possible rise in patients with respiratory disorders. The medical education minister had directed all medical colleges in the state to take measures on the same. We therefore decided to keep a ward ready,” said a senior official from the hospital. The ward will be functional under the pulmonary medicine department of the hospital.

The respiratory medicine physicians are expecting a surge in asthma, chronic inflammatory lung disease, allergic rhinitis, and dry coughs triggered by air pollution soon after Diwali. In case of an increase in the number of respiratory patients, a separate patient room has also been reserved in the hospital, added the official.

Meanwhile, the health department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) held a meeting on Monday to discuss a mitigation plan for air pollution-related ailments.

“We will keep a close watch on acute respiratory ailments. We have asked our doctors, and ward health officers to notify if they see a rise,” said a senior BMC health official, who added that they are waiting for the state to send them formats on how to report on air pollution-related illness.

Dr Rajesh Sharma, respiratory medicine expert practicing in South Mumbai hospitals said, in his many years of practice in the city, the air quality index (AQI) has never been so bad.

“When the air quality gets beyond a certain point, even the healthiest lungs react strongly. We are already seeing poor AQI because of construction. The Diwali firecracker bursting will add to the pollution levels,” Sharma said, adding that people who are extremely prone to air pollution-triggered infections, should avoid venturing out when the air quality is poor.