Mumbai: Infections on the rise, but detections halt

At a time when viral infections are rampant the BMC scheme Aapli Chikitsa under which people can get tested for diseases at a subsidised rate at civicrun dispensaries maternity homes and peripheral hospitals has been put on ice According to officials services were started on March 6 but patients didnrsquot receive reports even after a weekLater civicrun dispensaries maternity homes and peripheral hospitals requested people to get tested at private laboratories or BMC hospitals where inhouse testing services are available midday on March 16 visited a few clinics and hospitals seeking tests under the scheme but was informed by staff that the service was put on hold until further noticeUnder it blood and pathology tests that are not available at BMC health facilities would be sent to the designated private lab Krsnaa Diagnostics to whom the tender was awarded Under this scheme doctors can send poor patientsrsquo samples to the Aapli Chikitsa department established in the hospital for tests that are not done at their inhouse pathology laboratory According to civic officials there are over 200 civicrun dispensaries 16 maternity homes and 16 peripheral hospitals across MumbaiAlso Read Mumbai Cama hospital adds swanky paid wardA notice announcing the absence of the Aapli Chikitsa service at VN Desai hospitalWhen this reporter visited dispensaries at Dahisar Mumbai Central and Parel he was told ldquoItrsquos been 10 days since the pathology service was put on hold Many of the patients didnrsquot receive their reports You can either go to a private lab or a BMC hospitalrdquo The civicrun peripheral VN Desai hospital has put a public notice stating ldquoKrsnaa Laboratory services are temporarily unavailable till further noticerdquolsquoTherersquore delaysrsquoOn the condition of anonymity a senior BMC health official said ldquoIt has not been completely halted but the results were coming after a week and then too patients would not get all of them We have written a letter to the service provider Before this Thyrocare was the provider and a patient would get a report in one or two days but the tender ended and recently because of lower bidding the contract was awarded to Krsnaa Diagnostics as per the rules But it doesnrsquot seem that they are providing proper servicesrdquolsquoWill reviewrsquoWhen midday spoke Dr Sanjiv Kumar additional municipal commissioner health he said ldquoWe are corresponding with the service provider We will review the matter and then decide the further course of actionrdquo A senior doctor from the civic health department said ldquoPoor patients canrsquot afford private healthcare services They approach nearby BMC hospitals Pathology tests play important role in the diagnosis of diseases and based on them treatment is givenTests have prognostic importance also Some people require regular blood tests for monitoring and assessing preexisting ailments The BMCrsquos own laboratories are a complete failure due to a shortage of staff laziness dysfunctional machines and kits and reagents being out of stock most of the time The flu is on the rise In such conditions the shutting down of the Aapli Chikitsa scheme is a big matter The BMC must try to find a solution to the problem at the earliestrdquoA cheap optionUnder the scheme tests are classified as basic and advanced For the former the patient has to pay Rs 50 while the BMC pays Rs 223 to the service provider For the advanced one the patient hands over Rs 100 and the civic body pays Rs 892 Now while patients pay the same amount the BMC has to pay Rs 86 and Rs 344 for basic and advanced tests When midday reached out Krsnaa Diagnostics they said they would reply to its queries200No of civicrun dispensaries in city