TMC to set up dedicated paediatric ward at Saket Covid hospital

THANE: The municipal corporation here is mulling to set up a dedicated paediatric ward at the Saket Covid hospital to cater to juvenile patients being brought to the city from across the district.
Officials from the Thane municipal corporation said they are considering setting up a dedicated paediatric along with ICU facility here as there is no provision for children and teenagers brought in with serious Covid condition anywhere across the district. The facility could possibly be set up within the Covid hospital with round the clock staff, said a senior official requesting anonymity.
It may be noted that the city has witnessed barely 5.2% patients in the 0-20 age group till date and all within manageable parameters. Officials, nonetheless, said they would consider having a facility to tackle any future requirements.
“We are working out to start a small section for children brought in with Covid critical condition. We are planning to hire paediatricians along with trained and specialised staff to handle ailing children. We haven’t got any critical patient in that age group till one recently but still we would work to set up the facility,” said a senior official from the health department.
It may be recalled an eight-year-old from the rural belt of Ambernath had to be made to run around between civic hospitals in Thane recently and eventually shifted to a Mumbai facility where she died last week.