Health officials to study BMC plan for ACs in general wards

Despite health experts raising concerns over the proposal by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to install air conditioners (AC) in the general wards of

Despite health experts raising concerns over the proposal by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to install air conditioners (AC) in the general wards of municipal hospitals; the health officials have constituted a hospital infection committee to study the proposal before it is implemented. The proposal was made after municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi visited King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Parel in December 2019 for an inspection.

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Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner (health), BMC, said, “As per international standards, air cooling system is a necessity in hospitals which provides better health care standards to patients. So, we are waiting for reports from the health committee and engineering department before we submit the proposal at the standing committee.” The project will start on a pilot basis in two wards of KEM Hospital.

However, some doctors have raised their concern about the proposal, saying that the installation of the ventilation system in general wards might spread air-borne diseases. “Often many undiagnosed people and their relatives visit these wards. In a climate-controlled environment, the chances of the spread of airborne diseases are high,” said Dr Hemant Deshmukh, dean, KEM hospital.

Dr Vikrant Shah, an infectious disease specialist said that to curb the spread of infection through the ventilation system, it is important to install proper filters to stop the transmission of microbes. “With the installation of proper filters, the chances of cross-infection are extremely limited. But considering the flow of patients and their relatives are much higher (in municipal hospitals) than private hospitals, the authorities will have to consider this before installing ACs,” he said.

Dr Ramesh Bharmal, medical director of the four major civic-run hospitals, said that the committee will examine the recommendations and submit their report within 15 days.

The BMC said that air-conditioning facilities will be first introduced in the outpatient department and then extended to orthopaedic, forensic, psychiatry departments where the chances of cross-infection are limited. “We will wait until we get the report of the hospital infection committee. Once we get it that we will decide about other departments like chest, pediatric, gynaecology and others,” added Kakani.

Currently, BMC hospitals across the city attend to over 55,000 patients in the OPDs daily.

Even if the committee gives their green signal to the plan, the mechanical and electrical department would face difficulties while installing ACs in hospitals as they are overcrowded with patients. “To install a centralised air conditioning system in general wards, we will need a floor map. We will also have to upgrade the ventilation and fire safety measures in these wards which will be an exorbitant job,” said an officer from the department.