Photo by BL SONI Mumbai: In the last few months, the city has witnessed serious incidents like building collapses, heavy rainfall and recently the Elphinstone FOB stampede due to which the civic and government-run hospitals had to face many problems in treating patients who are injured in these incidents.
Despite having the health budget in crores, there is lack of facilities in the hospitals and most of the time the victims complain about their belongings getting stolen when they are taken to the hospital for treatment. Drawing lessons from all these incidents, civic and state-run hospitals have equipped themselves well to deal with emergency situations. “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has been entrusted with the task of emergency planning and gearing up both private and government hospitals to tackle man-made and natural emergency conditions,” said an official of BMC.
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A senior official said that, “Apart from grappling with the problem of huge patient intake in municipal and government hospitals, the civic emphasis to safe buildings structures, escape routes, evacuation areas, fire-fighting and security of patients and doctors during emergency.”
Former dean of the Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy hospital said that he has been a part of several emergency incidents when whole hospitals are ready on their toe to tackle in such conditions. “The doctors are well trained how to tackle emergency cases. We prepare a separate team of doctor and they treat the patients immediately,” said Dr. TP Lahane.
During such incidents, there is a lot of chaos in the hospital and in the casualty, which becomes difficult for doctors who are in need of emergency. “We face problems in handling patients in casualty as we treat those patients who are in need of immediate treatment so that they can be saved,” said a senior doctor of KEM. He further added that a separate team of doctors is set to handle such patients and start treatment immediately. “A totally separate ward is being made for patients in such emergency cases.”
