Coronavirus Mumbai: BMC confirms taking necessary actions after hospital video goes viral

Soon after the Mumbai-based resident doctors' video on manpower shortage at the COVID-19 ward in KEM hospital went viral, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) health demand issued a notice to the class four staffers to resume to duty, or to face action. 

The video, which was filmed by a resident doctor at the well-known government hospital, highlighted the plight of the 35 COVID-19 positive patients who required constant medical attention and were facing repercussion due to the lack of staff available. The doctors further claimed that the hospital authorities showcased only those rooms where there is sufficient workforce in the wards. The video that was published on June 2 on Twitter went viral on various social media platforms.

Acting on the video Maharashtra State Health Minister issued a notice to the hospital, asking them for an explanation about the same. The resident doctors who created the video also had to go through a series of internal inquiries which questioned them on causing panic and spreading rumours.

To overcome the crisis, the BMC health department has also issued a notice to the Class IV employees to resume duty or to face stringent actions that will be taken against them by the department.

The doctors, who spoke to Sakal Times on condition of anonymity, said "We are working round the clock. The Class IV employees have been affected by the virus while tending to the patients. Few of them were quarantined while others fled due to the fear of getting infected. The doctors here are working in such a condition for the past eight days."

Posted by Resident Doctor, KEM Hospital Mumbai . There are 35 patients in this ward managed by only 1-2 resident doctors without any staff nurse or any ward boys. #Mumbai #MumbaiFightsCovid19 @Rajput_Ramesh pic.twitter.com/K1BV0fyIZk

— Raajeev Chopra (@Raajeev_romi) June 2, 2020

However, the doctors claimed that they felt helpless to witness a situation like this, and were also restless when they failed to attend to critical patients sufficiently.

The hospital authority remained chose to let such issues go unnoticed, and that prompted the doctors to take things to Twitter.

When contacted by the BMC health department, they admitted to the video incident and said, "The hospital authorities are probing into the facts of the video; however, we have begun asking the Class IV staff who were absent from resuming office."