Mumbai: Health officers issued training circular ahead of summer

Citizens grapple with the heat in Mumbai. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC), health department issued directions to ward-level medical health officers (MOH) on Wednesday, which called for staff training, among other things.

"This largely includes health post staff who will further train community health workers. We should be starting that in the next couple of days," said Dr Balasaheb Kawale, MOH, G North ward.

Dr Daksha Shah, BMC's executive health officer, said training of over 400 doctors across all the wards has been completed sometime back. "They were told about signs and symptoms to check for," she said. "The temperatures in the city are yet to rise substantially but we are preparing for it,' she added.

Apart from that, the BMC has also set up cold rooms in medical college hospitals for heat stroke patients. "We have already kept a five-bedded ICU room with controlled temperature ready in case of emergency," said Dr Sudhir Medhekar, Dean, BYL Nair Hospital.

BMC's circular issued to ward-level medical officers notes, "Cold rooms need to have adequate facilities like ORS, PCM tablet, cold sponging material, IV fluids, etc."
It also flagged that the ones most at risk for heat-related health issues are those involved in daily wage work and factory workers. "Some symptoms are fatigue, fever, dry skin, loss of appetite, nausea, headache, increase in blood pressure, restlessness, and dizziness," the circular said.