Even as all 16 peripheral civic hospitals battle scarcity of required tablets and injections, and docs' safety gear, Ghatkopar's Rajawadi bears the brunt as those around it have either shut for repairs or are lacking in facilities
Gone are the days you would get medicines for free at civic hospitals, at least for now. With a majority facing shortage, doctors have been sending patients to chemists outside for buying what's needed. The situation is equally bad at larger civic and government hospitals, including JJ, St George, GT and Cama, where apart from medicines even safety gear for doctors - gloves and masks - has been unavailable.
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Representation pic
While senior civic health officials were quick to downplay the situation, saying the SAP support for the central purchase system after introduction of GST had been configured and supply would be streamlined soon, the truth was something else. Most hospitals are short on Augmentin (used for bacterial infections), Rentac, Pan 40 (for acidity), Metrogyl (for diarrhoea).
Rajawadi burdened
As per 2015 statistics made available by the BMC, as many as 15 million patients are treated annually in civic hospitals' OPDs. While shortage of medicines has impacted all 16 civic hospitals in the suburbs, Rajawadi hospital has been the most affected, as it has been catering to population from Vashi Naka to Kurla and Mulund to Kurla with other hospitals in the vicinity either shut for renovation or not having the required facilities, said a doctor.
Another doctor said, "We have requested the medical social workers attached to the hospital to arrange for medicines and injections not in stock. At times, with the permission of medical superintendent, we do purchase medicines locally, to meet the demand." Medical superintendent at Rajawadi hospital Dr Vidya Thakur admitted that with MT Agarwal hospital undergoing renovation, the footfall has risen at their hospital.
From the higher-ups
Dr Pradip Jadhav, chief medical superintendent, peripheral hospitals, said, "All peripheral hospitals under me (16) have the required medicines. I have got a notification from the Central Purchase Department, and all hospital pharmacies will get more stocks in a day or two." Former dean of JJ Group of Hospitals Dr T P Lahane admitted that there was a shortage of medicines in JJ hospital and it would be a while before things normalised.
"Any new policy takes time to settle. A new system has been introduced by the state, where procuring medicines and hospital equipment is no longer the state health department's responsibility, but of a Statewide Purchase Committee under the leadership of former state director general of police Pravin Dixit, under the FDA," he added.
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