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

The X-ray section at M W Desai Municipal General Hospital is operational only between 8 am and 4 pm and manned by a single technician

Civic health authorities are concerned about the surge in COVID-19 cases, with a fear of the number going up in slum pockets, but the civic-run MW Desai hospital in Malad East), a peripheral centre, has not had an X-ray department that functions round-the-clock for months. Locals are worried about this.

When the technician is on leave, the department is shut

A chest X-ray is crucial for initial screening of COVID (private centres charge around '250 to Rs 500 for a chest X-ray), and TB. Getting a chest X-ray is also important before surgical procedures. The X-ray 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 sources.

Last year, the hospital had announced vacancies for five X-ray technicians, three assistants and five attendants, but they remained on paper. Over 200 to 300 locals from lower middle-class 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 P/N ward.

‘False assurances'
Advocate Sharma said, "We 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 X-ray 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 centre."

Sharma added, "We will once again write to the hospital administration with our request of ensuring round-the-clock functioning of the X-ray department or else we will be forced to protest at the hospital." Sangeeta Sharma, local BJP corporator from P/N BMC ward said, "Lame excuses are given by the hospital. P/N ward comprises people from lower middle class, who cannot afford treatment at private set ups. They have to come to BMC-run hospitals."

The 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, "The 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 unwarranted."

The other side
When asked about the X-ray department not working round-the-clock and the technician vacancies, Dr Barot said, "I won't comment on the matter, whatever I have to state, I will speak to the chief of peripheral hospitals Dr Pradeep Jadhav."

Dr Jadhav, chief medical superintendent, in charge of all the peripheral hospitals in Mumbai said MW Desai is not a COVID hospital and, "As per my knowledge MW Desai's X-ray department is operational in two shifts." When informed that the hospital's X-ray department works in one shift, Dr Jadhav said, "I think at both MW Desai and SK Patil hospitals have X-ray 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 X-ray departments work round-the-clock." Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, (Public Health), BMC was not available for comment.

1976
When M W Desai Municipal General Hospital began as a 20-bedded maternity hospital