Mumbai: This hospital in Malad has one technician, single shift

Civic health authorities are concerned about the surge in COVID19 cases with a fear of the number going up in slum pockets but the civicrun MW Desai hospital in Malad East a peripheral centre has not had an Xray department that functions roundtheclock for months Locals are worried about thisWhen the technician is on leave the department is shutA chest Xray is crucial for initial screening of COVID private centres charge around 250 to Rs 500 for a chest Xray and TB Getting a chest Xray is also important before surgical procedures The Xray section at MW Desai Municipal General Hospital is operational only between 8 am and 4 pm and manned by a single technician When he is on leave the department is shut said hospital sourcesLast year the hospital had announced vacancies for five Xray technicians three assistants and five attendants but they remained on paper Over 200 to 300 locals from lower middleclass families have urged the local corporator and NGOs to take up the issue said local activist and lawyer Gyanmurti Sharma who was also former local corporator of PN wardlsquoFalse assurancesrsquoAdvocate Sharma said ldquoWe had raised this issue with the hospital authorities many times but other than false assurances they would always blame manpower shortage and that the issue would be resolved soon On an average around 200 to 300 patients avail the Out Patient Department facility at the hospital and nearly 25 per cent of them require Xray screening but are forced to get it done at a private centre Even minor accidents and trauma medico legal cases come to this centre but after giving basic clinical support serious patients are shifted to Jogeshwari trauma centrerdquoSharma added ldquoWe will once again write to the hospital administration with our request of ensuring roundtheclock functioning of the Xray department or else we will be forced to protest at the hospitalrdquo Sangeeta Sharma local BJP corporator from PN BMC ward said ldquoLame excuses are given by the hospital PN ward comprises people from lower middle class who cannot afford treatment at private set ups They have to come to BMCrun hospitalsrdquoThe Watchdog Foundation trustees Nicholas Almeida and Advocate Godfrey Pimenta have made written submissions to the civic chief and other bureaucrats via email highlighting the plight of patients at the hospital Advocate Godfrey Pimenta said ldquoThe issue has been brought to the notice of Tanuja Barot acting medical superintendent of MW Desai Municipal Hospital but she has given evasive answers This casual approach by the hospital is unwarrantedrdquoThe other sideWhen asked about the Xray department not working roundtheclock and the technician vacancies Dr Barot said ldquoI wonrsquot comment on the matter whatever I have to state I will speak to the chief of peripheral hospitals Dr Pradeep JadhavrdquoDr Jadhav chief medical superintendent in charge of all the peripheral hospitals in Mumbai said MW Desai is not a COVID hospital and ldquoAs per my knowledge MW Desairsquos Xray department is operational in two shiftsrdquo When informed that the hospitalrsquos Xray department works in one shift Dr Jadhav said ldquoI think at both MW Desai and SK Patil hospitals have Xray departments working in single shifts at present We have bigger hospital set ups like Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal General Hospital Shatabdi hospital in Kandivli where Xray departments work roundtheclockrdquo Suresh Kakani additional commissioner Public Health BMC was not available for comment1976When M W Desai Municipal General Hospital began as a 20bedded maternity hospital