COVID second wave threat: PMC has merely 120 beds for 8.4L residents

Residents of Panvel and Kharghar wonder how they will manage a second outbreak of COVID-19, expected early next year, with no basic healthcare infrastructure and the two private hospitals out of PMCs COVID list

Residents of Panvel and Kharghar are concerned about the poor health infrastructure, as it will become a major challenge early next year when a second wave of novel coronavirus infection is expected.

The Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC), under which Kharghar comes, is faced with the challenge particularly after the state government recently removed two private referral hospitals from the list for treating serious COVID-19 patients in the PMC -- MGM hospital and a few beds in D Y Patil Hospital, which has now been brought under the ambit of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.

Population of over 8 lakh

Besides the PMC, with a population of over 8.4 lakh, has no jumbo centre or dedicated COVID healthcare centre, which the doctors believe will only make the situation grim in case the infection spreads rapidly during the second wave.

Panvel City Municipal Corporation doctor collects swab samples of a cop in Navi Mumbai. File pic/PTI

Moreover, contracts of doctors, who were hired during the initial phase of COVID-19 spread, have not been renewed and majority of them have returned to private practice. One among them is Dr Pankaj Titar, a resident of Kharghar. The PMC had hired him on contract basis and he served as the nodal officer for COVID-19 in the Kharghar area for seven months. His service ended on October 29.

Cases on rise post-Diwali

"The number of COVID-19 cases has been on the rise since after Diwali. And we do not have the basic health infrastructure required for such a large population. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) are well prepared to handle a second wave, but the PMC will need to set up everything from scratch. This is only possible with support from CIDCO and the state health department," Dr Titar said.

He added, "Kharghar, with a population of over 2.57 lakh and 53,000 families, is the largest ward in the PMC, but still we managed to tackle the first wave with limited resources. That was possible with home isolation and constant monitoring of the patients. However, the situation might not be the same during the second wave, as it is said to be more aggressive."

Mangal Kamble, founder-president of Swach Kharghar Foundation, "We, the residents of Kharghar, have been on the receiving end ever since the formation of the PMC in 2017. Neither CIDCO nor any elected political representative has bothered about Kharghar and its adjoining areas, which are deprived of basic healthcare facilities."

Also Read: BMC identifies three storage spaces for COVID-19 vaccine when ready

PMC speak

PMC Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Shinde confirmed that the PMC has only one sub-district hospital that has capacity of 120 beds, with 10 ICU beds. "We have been having a series of meetings to prepare for a second wave."

The hospital was inaugurated only last year.

Another PMC official said, "In case of an emergency, we will have no option but to approach MGM hospital and D Y Patil Hospital to take in serious patients. While the TMC and the NMMC were given permission to set up jumbo care centres, we were left out. Though, CIDCO has assured to set up a jumbo facility in Kalamboli area."

MLA speak

Prashant Thakur, the BJP MLA from Panvel, said, "It is a fact that the PMC is newly formed and has a long way to go both in terms of having funds and infrastructure. We are equally concerned about the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak, and a high-level meeting was held with PMC Commissioner Sudhakar Deshmukh."

Thakur said he has suggested that more private hospitals and nursing homes be brought under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, so that poor can avail COVID-19 treatment in case of a second outbreak of COVID-19. He added that setting up a jumbo care centre within the PMC would not be worth it as the facility and the money spent on it would go to "waste" once the pandemic is over.

Dr Titar said the PMC, which has six wards, on Tuesday reported 545 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 127 in Kharghar, followed by Kalmaboli with 121, and New Panvel with 110. Of the 575 killed by the deadly virus, 88 died in Kharghar, 139 in Kamothe and 133 in New Panvel.

10
No. of ICU beds in the only PMC hospital

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