BMC sends notices to 20 doctors for shutting down clinics amid Covid-19 pandemic

While several general physicians are closing down their clinics in the city due to lack of protective gear, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served

While several general physicians are closing down their clinics in the city due to lack of protective gear, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served notices to 20 such doctors for violating the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

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The civic body is also is investigating more such clinics which have shut down. So far, eight doctors and over a dozen nurses have been diagnosed with Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) in the city. This is creating fear among doctors who are closing down their clinics as they don’t have personal protective equipment (PPE) to screen suspected patients.

“Doctors are supposed to screen patients with symptoms like cold and cough. The suspected patients need to be referred to dedicated civic body hospitals for diagnosis. But as many clinics are not following it,” said a senior health officer.

According to the BMC officer, there are around 300 private clinics in each of the 24 municipal wards and the ward officers are given the responsibility of monitoring the clinics.

Harshad Kale, deputy municipal commissioner, BMC said that recently BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi had directed the civic body to send notices to private clinics. “The commissioner has given the rights to us to call medical practitioners on duty by servicing notices if they close down,” he said.

In the city, already hundreds of medicos have been home quarantined after getting exposed to coronavirus patients. In Jaslok Hospital, after an asymptomatic patient got diagnosed with Covid-19, one nurse along with five other medical staffers have tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 (coronavirus). Similarly, at Seven Hills Hospital, an orthopaedic doctor has tested the hospital. Following which around 40 medical practitioners have been kept under quarantine. In the city, around 300 medical staffers are kept in home quarantine.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) has blamed BMC for being negligent. Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president of the association, informed that when the city recorded its first case in the second week of March, BMC instructed them to screen all possible suspected patients and refer them to nodal coronavirus centres. But the private practitioners weren’t given protective gears.

“The health authority stated that surgical masks are enough to stop any transmission but as it is noticed now, it is inadequate. Even to screen the patients, we need N95 masks if not PPE,” he said.

In a recent few cases, it is observed that surgical masks aren’t enough.

Talking to HT, a 47-year-old coronavirus positive doctor from Jambhipada, Kalina, said that he followed all protocols while screening patients. “I did wear a three-layer surgical mask along with gloves while screening patients. But now I know, it’s not enough as these masks have gaps and we can easily inhale the virus through our nostrils,” he said.

To address this issue, BMC has now made it compulsory for medicos to use N95 masks on duty. BMC has procured over one lakh N95 masks and 5,000 PPE for medical staffers working for patients infected with the coronavirus.

“If doctors feel safe with PPE, we have decided to give protective kits to all medical practitioners involved in the screening and treatment of Covid-19 patients. We will now make it compulsory for all medical staffers to use N95 for their safety,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner (health), BMC.

Ten nurses test positive

Around 10 nurses working at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, have recently tested positive for coronavirus due to the mismanagement of the hospital administration.

On March 20 two confirmed Covid-19 patients and another two suspected patients were brought to Wockhardt Hospital from Kasturba Hospital. The confirmed cases were kept in isolation wards, while suspects were kept in general ICU wards where other patients were also being provided care. On March 28, two nurses working in the same general ICU ward tested positive for Covid-19.

“Samples of all hospital staffers have been sent for the analysis to Kasturba hospital. For now, all emergency services, OPDs and new admissions have been closed down at the hospital,” said Dr Parag Rindani, associate vice-president of the hospital.