BMC hospitals face staff crunch as docs, nurses at jumbo centres

Number of non-Covid patients rises at civic hospitals

The pandemic curve may be flattening gradually, but the staff of BMC-run hospitals are still a troubled lot – thanks to the extra hours of duty. The jumbo care centres are receiving fewer patients, but doctors and healthcare staff from civic hospitals are being outsourced for the jumbo centres and Seven Hills Hospital. As a result, BMC hospitals are facing severe staff crunch as there is a rise in non-Covid patients.

Resident doctors have urged their deans to call back the staff sent to jumbo care centres. Since the pandemic started, the footfall of nonCovid patients had reduced.

Over 100 resident doctors from BMC hospitals were posted on COVID duties at the jumbo centres and Seven Hills hospital. Almost 72 per cent of beds are vacant at the jumbo centres but many resident doctors from KEM, BYL Nair, RN Cooper and Sion hospital are still posted there. “With the relaxation of the lockdown, we are getting many serious patients who couldn't reach hospitals earlier. But due to the shortage of staff, we aren’t able to pay timely treatment,” said Dr Arun Ghule, president of KEM MARD.

The KEM hospital, the biggest civic-run hospital records 7,000 out-patient departments (OPD) patients daily. Almost 50 of their resident doctors are stationed at NESCO Jumbo centre, Goregaon and Seven Hills Hospital, Marol. Similarly, the Sion hospital which receives around 3,000 daily OPD patients have stationed almost 100 of their resident doctors at various jumbo centres.

Many opine that resident doctors are ‘unnecessarily’ stationed there.