Mumbai Rains: Waterlogging trouble for patients, doctors at hospitals

The waterlogging at the entrance of Nair Hospital

The heavy rain that inundated the city and led to waterlogging in South Mumbai hospitals on Wednesday, also caused commuting troubles for doctors, patients and their relatives. While patients in the casualty department of JJ Hospital in Byculla were shifted to a higher floor, doctors on duty at Nair Hospital had to do a double shift, as the entrance of the hospital was flooded until Thursday morning.

Dr Ranjeet Manakeshwar, dean of JJ Hospital, said a team from the civic body and the Public Works Department (PWD) had visited the hospital to resolve the issue.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: A look at the South Mumbai mayhem on fateful August 6

A doctor from JJ hospital said the water had risen to three feet and a few patients in the casualty department had to be shifted on stretchers. "The lifts had to be shut down and they didn't start working until 11 pm on Wednesday. The CT scan and sonography department is also on the ground floor and patients had to be shifted to higher floors," said the doctor.

'Stuck till 2 am'

There was panic among patients who had been admitted on Wednesday and though they were shifted to other wards, their relatives couldn't leave until the water had receded. A woman had taken her 58-year-old mother to JJ Hospital for a routine check up and had to admit her on doctor's advice. "My mother had weakness on her right side and the doctor suspected paralysis. They suggested I get her admitted. My mother was shifted to another ward on the second floor but I was at the hospital till 2 am because of the flooding," she said.

Other hospitals in the area were also affected and it took Madanpura-resident Mohammed Hussain Khan, 41, over six hours to arrange for transport for his mother who had gone to Noor Hospital for a dialysis. "My parents had gone to the hospital at 11 am and the dialysis got over at 4.30 pm. But there was two feet high water up to the hospital entrance. Since my mother needed her medications immediately after the dialysis, I took them to her on my bike. Finally, my cousin arrived and picked her up at 10 pm," he said.

A doctor at Nair Hospital said that since the hospital building is on higher ground, patients weren't affected. But, their relatives were stuck as there was knee-high water at the gate.

Makarand Dagadkhaire, assistant municipal commissioner of E ward said, "A team of officials was sent to JJ hospital. They had taken a small pump to empty out the water. We are checking if there is garbage in the drains and are cleaning them," he said. Civic officials said water at Nair Hospital took longer to recede as pumps at the Haji Ali pumping station hadn't been turned on.

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