There are many police personnel in the city police who have gone beyond their lines of duty and helped people, one of whom is Rehana Shaikh, who has helped arrange plasma for 54 serious COVID-19 patients. Shaikh has been helping the police as well as the citizens by arranging oxygen beds beyond her duty, since the inception of the pandemic. On Tuesday Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale felicitated her for the good work.
Shaikh, who is currently posted at the Local Arms division of Mumbai Police, is widely known for her social work in the police ranks. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Shaikh has been receiving calls from COVID-19 positive patients and their friends and family members, requesting her for help. So far, she has arranged plasma for 54 people, of which 32 were police personnel and their family members. Moreover, she has also arranged oxygen beds for over 60 people across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai areas.
"Whenever I receive requests for beds, I generally call nearby hospitals for bed availability. Being a policewoman, I generally receive good responses from the hospitals. I have also created multiple WhatsApp groups of social workers, activists, medical representatives and put the requests for bed availability there. Often, I get alerts about the bed availability and leads from there and I pass it on to the patients and their family members. Some of the members are so active that they personally visit hospitals to check beds and request hospitals to arrange for them,” said Shaikh.
She added that she is a part of multiple WhatsApp groups of blood donors. "Whenever I receive requests for plasma, I post it on the groups. Most of the time, we received a positive response immediately. On one occasion, when I was not getting plasma of A+ patient, my husband stepped forward for donation,” she added.
Touched with the plight of Adivasi school children, Shaikh has also shouldered the educational responsibility of 50 students from a school in Raigad district since last year.