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Pune’s Inlaks & Budhrani and Kamala Nehru hospital get it right to ensure vaccine drive a succes
PUNE Two of the city’s major hospitals - Inlaks & Budhrani and Kamala Nehru hospital - have seen a massive response from senior citizens, thanks to their well-managed arrangements and less waiting period
PUNE Two of the city’s major hospitals - Inlaks & Budhrani and Kamala Nehru hospital - have seen a massive response from senior citizens, thanks to their well-managed arrangements and less waiting period.
Pune city has 12 lakh beneficiaries due for the Covid vaccine in phase two of the vaccinations drive. These include senior citizens and those with comorbidities aged 45-59. Of these, 40,000 have been given the first dose since March 1.
On Tuesday alone, close to 10,000 senior citizens and those suffering from comorbidities were vaccinated.
In addition to the centrally located area of the hospitals, open space and hospitality has been the plus-point in attracting beneficiaries.
While Inlaks & Budhrani is located at Koregaon park, the PMC-run Kamala Nehru hospital is located in Mangalwar peth.
Kamala Nehru was one of the first hospitals to begin vaccination in the city. On Tuesday of the 9,721 senior citizens and comorbids who got the vaccine, 215 got the vaccine at Inlaks & Budhrani, while 222 got it at Kamala Nehru.
On the first day of phase two vaccination on March 1, Kamala Nehru was one of only four locations in the city. Following that, the civic body started more centres, however, a huge crowd continued to go to the PMC hospital.
Additional commissioner Rubal Aagrwal said, “Due to the huge response we had to begin two shifts for the vaccine starting from 9 am to 9 pm. There has been no major response, post-vaccination, which is further encouraging senior citizens. We even had a women’s special vaccination on March 8 to encourage women senior citizens.”
Inlaks & Budhrani hospital director Dr Rhea Punjabi said, “It is difficult to manage senior citizens as they are impatient and most of them come for walk-in registration. They come to the hospital at 8am and then there is a huge crowd. However, we have allocated separate nursing staff, and also staff to attend to basic needs like water and tea. There is a clear demarcated space for waiting and there is shed outside also. We have the security in place to manage the crowd.”
Dr Punjabi added: “After the vaccination is done, some are desperate to leave, but we ensure that they wait for at least 30 minutes no matter what. In addition to the medical certificate, we also check for vitals like blood pressure and temperature at the site. This crowd could go on for months and so we are contemplating increasing counters.”
On Tuesday, Pune city saw a total of 12,091 beneficiaries get the vaccine, including first and second dose. No adverse effects following immunisation were reported
