BMC asks local general practitioners to report immunisation status of patients, to help vaccinate more kids; doctors to start giving Vitamin A drops to suspected patients, too
General practitioners from M East ward with BMC officials at the ward office on Friday
After reporting suspected measles cases to BMC, general practitioners in Govandi will now start raising awareness about the need for vaccination of children too. M East ward, especially Govandi, has a huge gap in terms of children immunisation, and the civic body has roped in local doctors to help bridge the gap by reporting any unvaccinated child they treat.
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The BMC, after the measles outbreak, has roped in Asha workers, community health workers and even local mosques to raise awareness about immunisation. As part of its move to reach out to the community, health department officials on Friday held a meeting at the ward office with local doctors. The meeting was attended by WHO consultant Dr Mujeeb Sayyed, General Secretary of United Medical Association Dr Zahid Khan, Assistant Ward Commissioner Mahendra Ubale, and Medical Officer Dr Upali Mitra along with 92 doctors practising at the slums in M East ward.
Civic officials, in the meeting, appealed to the doctors to ask patients visiting their clinics about the immunisation status of their kids and report it to the BMC.
A senior civic official said, “People have a lot of faith in their family physicians. So, we asked doctors to ask their patients whether they have taken all vaccines or not. In case they have not, the doctor has to inform BMC health officials. Once we receive information about unvaccinated kids, our team will make sure that they get vaccinated as early as possible with the help of the nearest health post.”
Also read: Measles outbreak: Mumbai records one more suspected death, toll rises to 9
Dr Khan said, “This is a good initiative by the civic health department. There are more than 350 general practitioners in the M East ward alone. We will provide all kinds of cooperation to the BMC to control measles, as we did during the COVID pandemic."
Apart from taking updates on vaccination status, these doctors will also give Vitamin A drops to the kids who come to their clinics with complaints of fever and rash. The BMC will provide a stock to the doctors for this purpose.
Cases in the city
. Confirmed cases: 176
. Suspected cases: 2,860
. Suspected deaths: 8
. Patients on ventilator: 2
*As on November 18
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