At BMC-Run Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, patients turn to mobile apps for ‘better food’

Unhappy with the food being provided to them, the suspected patients of coronavirus at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Kasturba Hospital have taken

Unhappy with the food being provided to them, the suspected patients of coronavirus at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Kasturba Hospital have taken to ordering their meals through online delivery applications.

HT Image

On Tuesday, the BMC had quarantined six travellers from Mumbai who had arrived from Dubai. The patients are not happy with the meal arrangements and as such, have been ordering food from surrounding restaurants.

One of the patients in quarantine said, “I was admitted around 2pm on Tuesday but the hospital staff did not serve us anything until 10.30pm. We have to wait and ask for food every time. Also, the food was inedible. Hence, we are ordering our breakfast and lunch through mobile apps.”

Another patient in the isolation ward said hospital staffers were rude towards them. “Health staffers barely give any attention to us. We have to repeatedly call them to get food or tea,” the patient said.

One suspected patient revealed that all family members are also in quarantine, as a result of which, no one can provide home-cooked food.

He ordered breakfast and tea through a mobile application and the staff collected the order and gave it to him.

Refuting allegations against the hospital, Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner (health), BMC, said, “Food is served as per the diet plan hence it may be less tasty. During such illnesses, you should avoid outside or spicy food. We are not compromising with the quality of food served at civic-run hospitals.”

To date, the civic health department has successfully tracked 620 Mumbai-based passengers who returned from trips to countries affected by the coronavirus.

Of the 620, 165 were suspected to have contracted the virus. While the test results of 163 were found to be negative, two of them were confirmed as positive, according to the civic health department.

‘Will cover virus claims’

Insurance companies have assured that if any customer included viral infection or pneumonia in their policy claim, they will get covered.

“If the life insurance policy covers death as an insured event, we will be honouring the claim irrespective of the cause of death being coronavirus,” said Kayzad Hiramanek, EVP-customer service and operations, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

Similarly, policy holders are liable to get full coverage if they get infected with the coronavirus.

Say no to DIY hand sanitiser

• The scarcity of sanitisers has driven people in search of do-it-yourself (DIY) solutions. Doctors however, warned against this.
• “To make santisers at home, people need to follow proper guidelines and use accurate concentration of chemicals. Santisers will not be effective to fight the virus if there is any miscalculation,” said Dr Om Srivastava, epidemiologist.
• Supramolecular chemistry expert at the University of New South Wales, professor Palli Thordarson tweeted, “Soap dissolves the fat membrane and [the] virus falls apart ... disinfectants are not as good as soap.”