This year, the Brihanm-umbai Municipal Corpor-ation (BMC) has set aside a total of 3,177 beds exclusively for monsoon-related ailments in civic hospitals. KEM, Sion and Nair Hospitals have been allocated 180, 140 and 120 beds respectively. Moreover, while Kast-urba Hospital in Chinchpokli will have 590 beds, 16 peripheral hospitals will have 2,147 beds allocated for monsoon diseases.
“These beds are additional, apart from the existing bed-strength at civic hospitals,” said Dr Anil Bandiwadekar, executive health officer of the BMC.
Additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said, “Earlier, during the monsoon months, many patients had to be accommodated on mattresses placed on the floor. With this move, all hospitals will have enough beds to accommodate all monsoon ailment cases,” she added.
Apart from this, the civic body has also planned to organise 100 health camps during the monsoon months. “Over the past few years, we have realised that people living in slums are most vulnerable to monsoon diseases. We are going to conduct camps, where our health officials will go door-to-door to check for fever cases. The patients will then be sent to nearby health posts and dispensaries for further treatment,” Ms Mhaiskar said.
Moreover, for vector control, the BMC has decided to concentrate on abandoned buildings. Out of the current 2,622 construction sites, BMC officials have visited 2,078. “Out of these, 619 buildings were found to have breeding grounds, and barring 19, other buildings have already corrected faulty practices, which had led to water collection and subsequent vector
breeding,” Ms Mhaiskar added.
On June 6, 7 and 8 the civic body will hold a series of meetings with ward officers and health officials to assess the situation. Dr Bandiwadekar said, “All officials will meet and brief the civic body about the situation in their respective wards. This time, the BMC wants to bring down the malaria incidence further by 50 per cent.”