Public hospitals still ill-prepared

A year after the terror attacks, Mumbai’s public hospitals are still not equipped to handle a disaster of this magnitude.

A year after the terror attacks, Mumbai’s public hospitals are still not equipped to handle a disaster of this magnitude.

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While doctors and paramedical staff gained experience during the terror attacks, little has been done to prepare public hospitals.

St George Hospital's medical superintendent Dr Chandrakant Gaikwad said they had a disaster management plan in place even before 26/11. Dr AV Kulkarni from GT Hospital said nothing special had been done after the attack.

A 20-bed vacant ward at JJ Hospital has been set aside as a 'disaster ward' for emergencies. The hospital also has a 13-bed Intensive Critical Care Unit (ICCU) and two well-equipped ambulances.

But the ICCU is not enough for the 1,350-bed hospital. Patients have to be moved to other hospitals as the regular ICCU, a paediatric ICU and a neo-natal ICU are also almost always full.