BMC TO PROCURE 50 ADDITIONAL VENTILATORS

MUMBAI:AS the city is dealing with a daily rise in coronavirus patients, there is an urgent need to increase medical equipment, especially ventilators. Taking note of it, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to procure 50 ventilators on an immediate basis. “A budgetary provision has been made for the same,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner (health), BMC. “We have also given 60 dysfunctional ventilators for repair which were lying in the city hospitals,” he added.

Currently, BMC has 600 ventilators at various hospitals, including the four major civicrun hospitals and Kasturba Gandhi Hospital. Due to the plunge in the number of admissions at these hospitals following the shutdown, several ventilators are available and can be used for patients in Covid-19 isolation wards during emergencies.

However, considering the 12 million population of Mumbai, the ventilators currently in BMC’S possession will be inadequate, according to medical experts. “Due to the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in Italy, the country has been facing a severe shortage of ventilators,” said Anant Bhant, a researcher on global health. “In India, the demand for ventilators can go up to 1 million but we have around 50,000 which is extremely inadequate,” he added.

In Mumbai currently, one patient is on a ventilator in Kasturba Gandhi Hospital. Earlier, the 68-year-old Philippines resident who died, was kept on the ventilator at the same hospital for over 10 days but couldn’t recover. At present, the hospital has 100 beds in the quarantine ward with four ventilators.

Ventilator care is required at the end stage of treatment when the patient’s breathing condition deteriorates. People with cardiac problems or smoking habits might need it at an early stage of treatment. “The virus first attacks the upper respiratory tract when the patient develops sore throat and fever. If the patient is not treated on time or has weak immunity, the virus reaches the lower respiratory tract when the complications develop,” said Dr Om Srivastava, a city-based epidemiologist. Ashok Patel, CEO of Max Ventilators said, “Ventilators parts are imported from Japan and the US. Due to the restrictions on transport, supply has been hit badly.”

MUMBAI: As several societies are taking steps to ensure that residents can avail essential commodities while maintaining social distancing norms, a housing complex in Bhandup (West) with 2,152 flats has set up its own vegetable market inside the complex to ensure that residents do not have to step out during the lockdown.

One of the largest housing complexes in the eastern suburbs, Dreams Complex which houses around 8,500 residents across 20-storey towers in seven housing societies, has adopted various precautionary measures to keep residents safe.

“As the entry of vendors and delivery persons is restricted, from March 24 we began the famers’ market. One vegetable vendor has been asked to strictly follow protocol of sanitising hands before beginning the sale of vegetables. Residents stand in a queue, at a two-metre distance from each other to purchase vegetables,” Paresh Ardekar, managing committee member of the complex, said.

The complex has also taken up the ‘pigeon hole’ concept, using which all essential supplies are dropped into a small opening below every building for easy access to citizens. Next to these ‘pigeon holes’, at the entrance and common area of every building, the societies have constructed a wash basin and placed sanitisers for residents and staff.

Secretaries from each of the seven societies have been visiting senior citizens and those living alone to check on their requirements. “Residents above 60 years do not need to leave their flats for any work. We have been collecting a list of grocery and other essential commodities from each tower every day and have been placing bulk orders with large vendors,” said Suraj Suvarna, secretary of Dreams Building 2.

The security staff of the complex stays in the quarters within the premises. All guests and house helps looking after senior citizens undergo thermal screening from a temperature gun. “There are about 20 such helpers who are being allowed to enter the society as some residents need assistance and thus we can’t ban their entry. However, all other domestic help and staffers has been stopped, but we ensured that each of them was sent on paid leave,” said Ardekar.