Double blow for Panvel: Home visits, screening not happening like last time

Amid raging novel Coronavirus spread the Panvel Municipal Corporation PMC is facing the double whammy of surging infections and shortage of experienced doctors to deal with the grim situation In November when the numbers dropped the civic body terminated the contracts of doctors hired during the first wave With cases rising again mostly since the past five days it is struggling to find medicsA constable gets tested for COVID File picMost doctors staying within the PMC have been working at COVID19 centres outside the jurisdiction as they are getting paid more there During the first wave the PMC paid the hired doctors Rs 30000 monthly half of what others got in Mumbai Navi Mumbai and other corporationsThe shortage is so severe that there screening has not been happening and societies with patients are not being sanitised or COVID quarantine boards are not being putThe situation is even worse in Kharghar There is only one Urban Public Health Centre UPHC for a population of 250 lakh3 lakh Kharghar Taloja and villages around and one mobile testing unit Ideally it should have four UPHCs and four mobile testing units One Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery BHMS doctor along with a nurse and four ward boys are managing the only fever clinic in KhargharThis set up was done as per the census of 2011 said Dr Anand Gosavi medical health officer PMC A proposal has been made to the state health department for more UPHCs in Kharghar On April 3 the PMC recorded 479 COVID19 cases and 189 of them were from Kharghar excluding the Taloja areaDr Anand Gosavi medical health officer PMCldquoThe health infrastructure in the PMC is very poor and has only one hospital the Sub District hospital in Panvel that has around 95 bed The Dedicated COVID Health Care Centre at Kalamboli is not operational yet The PMC is again putting up ads for BHMS BAMS doctors and healthcare professionals but offering only Rs 30000 for a ninehour shift and to handle about 150200 patients dailyrdquo said a doctorAbout the sudden increase in cases he said ldquoPeople who are infected are still roaming in public Also there is no screening as the mobile unit is not visiting homes like last year Instead suspected patients are being called to the fever clinic for tests thereby increasing the spreadrdquoA general physician said ldquoWe have to act fast or else Kharghar and other PMC areas will witness a massive surge in COVID19 casesrdquoDr Pankaj Titar said ldquoThe PMC hired me as a medical officer in April 2020 on a monthly contract basis for a consideration of Rs 30000 and was handling the Primary Health Care Centre in Kharghar My salary was increased to Rs 50000 in July when the cases increased but it remained the same till my contract ended in November 2020 The PMC called me again a month later and I worked till January on the same salaryrdquoAt present I am more than satisfied working with the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation NMMC where I am getting paid Rs 60000 and also get weekly off Moreover there is job security he addedDr Sandeep Singh a homeopathy doctor said ldquoI was hired by the PMC at Rs 30000 monthly salary and since my joining in April last year I was transferred to various COVID centres His salary was increased to Rs 50000 but the contract was terminated abruptly in November When asked about going back to PMC Singh said No Right now I am earning double the salary PMC gave and has no work pressurerdquoOther sideAbout the Kalamboli COVID centre Dr Gosavi said the work is almost complete and it will be in operation in the next few days It has 72 beds including 12 ICU and 60 oxygen beds Admitting that they are shortstaffed he said the PMC chief will take a decision in a day or two on revising the pay scale of doctors to be hired Meanwhile we have started a dedicated call centre and appointed school teachers who would contact the suspected COVID patients and inform the UPHCGuardian minister speaksAditi Tatkare state minister who is also the guardian minister for Raigad told midday that being a newly formed corporation the PMC does not have sufficient budgetary provisions I am in dialogue with the CM and the health minister for help to get required financial assistance ldquoWe have started a dedicated COVID centre with around 60 beds with oxygen and ventilator facility at Uran There is a delay in getting fire compliance clearance for Kalamboli centre due to the Bhandup mishap She added that the PMC will again start roping in private practitioners and consultants2684Total no of active cases in PMC as of Sunday