Two doctors, intern at GT Hospital test positive

Two resident doctors working within the medical care unit of the state-run Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital (GT Hospital), an intern and a few of sophistication four employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, increasing the number of frontline workers falling prey to the virus.

 Several doctors Mirror spoke to attributed the spike in Covid-19 cases among frontline workers at the hospital to a scarcity of infrastructure, training and awareness among class four employees.

While one resident doctor may be a medicine resident, the opposite may be a pediatric resident, and both are in their mid-twenties. The 22-year-old intern was from the casualty, Mirror has learned. “Two resident doctors working in our 10-bed ICU, an intern working in casualty and sophistication four employees have tested positive for Covid-19. Out of the remaining six residents, two more are given leave for seven days,” Dr Anant Shingare, medical superintendent of the hospital, told Mirror.

 “I think, donning and doffing of the PPE and proper use of mask is where the staff is faltering,” said a senior doctor of the hospital. Another doctor acknowledged how initially JJ Hospital, the most important state-run hospital, was alleged to be the Covid-19 hospital but at the eleventh hour, the responsibility was placed on St George and GT Hospital.

 “While the hospital was given the responsibility of handling COVID patients, our administration remains working with the old infrastructure,” another senior doctor said.

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Rs 1,000 for attendants to each body they handle

The attendants have also been promised a replacement personal protective suit in every shift

After being embarrassed repeatedly by reports of bodies lying around unattended in its hospitals for hours and attendants being scared of going anywhere near them, the BMC has finally found an answer to the matter – money.

Late on Monday evening, the BMC issued a circular promising Rs 1000 to each pair of attendants for everybody packed, carried to the mortuary, and handed over to the concerned family. The attendants have also been assured a replacement pair of private protective equipment (PPE) – comprising skull cap, glasses, overalls, gloves, and shoe covers – for each shift.

The decision to supply cash incentives to morgue attendants was taken after Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Chahal met medical directors and deans of all major hospitals at Nair Hospital last Saturday.

There was every sign evident on Monday that the answer will work. Not only had enough attendants agreed to check-in, but duty charts for 3 shifts were also up at KEM, Sion, and Nair, complete with the names of the attendants and their phone numbers.

This newspaper front-paged a minimum of three reports of bodies lying unattended for hours in hospital wards. All our reports – covering Sion, Cooper and SevenHills – were supported traumatized patients’ accounts and videos and pictures shared by them.

Bodies of a minimum of five patients at Cooper Hospital’s isolation ward were left unattended for up to 22 hours. it had been only after one among the patients started sending out the videos highlighting his and fellow patients’ trauma that the hospital staff removed the bodies.

Earlier this month, a video emerged from Sion Hospital showing a minimum of four bodies wrapped in black plastic sheets, lying next to patients, including those on life support. Two days after the Mirror report on the video -- supplemented with an interview of patients and their families -- the hospital dean, Dr Pramod Ingle, was shunted out.

The attendants – a pair each in three shifts across hospitals – have now been instructed to urge a body out of the ward or casualty area within a half-hour of a patient being declared dead. they're going to need to follow the protocol just in case the deceased is Covid-19 positive or suspected positive.

Talking to Mumbai Mirror on Monday, a Sion Hospital mortuary attendant said packing Covid-19 bodies involves tons of risk. “At least the cash incentive means there's an appreciation of the danger that I'm taking,” he said.

Dr Mohan Joshi, Dean, Nair Hospital, said that it had been not like hospitals were chosen to permit bodies to lie about inwards. “Nobody wants to stay bodies next to patients. we've told our class-four colleagues that we'd like their help during this battle against Covid-19. we've also assured them they're going to be provided all the protective gear they have,” he said.

A senior civic officer requesting anonymity said that if the incentives don’t work, the BMC will engage private agencies. “We will, of course, also initiate disciplinary action against morgue attendants,” he said.

Dr Rajesh Dere, head of forensic department, Sion Hospital, said that on Monday all bodies were taken out of wards within the prescribed half-hour. “For Covid-19 bodies, there's chilly storage with a capacity to carry 50 bodies. we've ordered another 50 cold storage cabinets. These are going to be installed outside the morgue,” he said.