How the medical contingency plan failed in the heat

At least 13 people have died from heatstroke while attending an awards function in an open ground at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai. The affected people were rushed to ACTREC Centre, which stabilised them before moving them to a general hospital. The Raigad district administration, which hosted the ceremony, claimed there were 73 ambulances and 350 doctors, including 80 specialists, and said hospitals in the vicinity were earmarked in case of emergency. Most of those affected had comorbidities.

Mumbai: Eight of the 13 people, who died from heatstroke while attending Maharashtra Bhushan Award function in an open ground at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, were rushed to Tata Hospital’s ACTREC Centre, which was two kilometres away from the venue.

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According to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), 18 people affected by dehydration and having symptoms of heatstroke were taken to ACTREC on Sunday.

In a press statement, ACTREC said “The medical staff stabilised the affected persons and, as per the directions of the local civil administration, shifted them to the designated local general hospital as soon as it was safe to shift them.”

This brings in focus, the Raigad district administration, which had hosted the award ceremony, and the arrangements they had made as the heatwave and people suffering heat stroke had been anticipated.

The administration claims there were 73 ambulances and 350 doctors, including 80 specialists, at the venue. The programme was held in the jurisdiction of Panvel municipal corporation, but since they are ill-equipped, one of the main hosts was Raigad collectorate. Officers from the NMMC, Thane Municipal Corporation were also asked to help. The Panvel municipal commissioner Ganesh Deshmukh did not answer calls from this newspaper.

Each booth raised had four doctors, two nurses, two pharmacists and one ambulance and there were 32 such booths.

The note says that hospitals in the vicinty 0151 ARTREC facility of Tata Memorial hospital at Kharghar, Fortis, Apollo, Medicover hospital, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial hospital at Kamothe were all earmarked in case of emergency.

A top police officer of Navi Mumbai police said that the function was supposed to start at 12 noon and the administration decided to advance the timing to 10.30 am. However, it did start late.

The officer said that there was enough arrangement made for water, but it could not reach those who were affected by sun stroke. “Even the water in the tanker had heated up,” he said.

Officials said that the temperature was around 39 degrees centigrade and most of those who suffered heat stroke had co-morbidities. A Raigad district official said that Dharmadhikari family had made an appeal that those with comorbidities, must not come to the event.

The Navi Mumbai police said that they had registered an accidental death report in the case.

While this might be the largest heat-related death toll from an event, emergency physicians said it is one of the most preventable health conditions.

“In an event like this, the spectators reach the venue much before the orators are slated to address them and are made to sit. They are already exposed to the heat, and they take along a limited amount of hydration. They also stay back after the speaker finishes addressing them,” said Dr Samrat Chavan, emergency physician, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital- Powai.

“Compared to young adults, elderly get more affected. Women also are known to get affected more as they do not hydrate themselves because of the fear of using loo,” said Dr Chavan.

Of the 13 deaths, eight were women and nine were above 50 years. The youngest of Sunday’s heatstroke victims was a 30-year-old resident from Virar.