The BMC is about to categorise doctors, nurses and patients at Wockhardt Hospital as high-, mild- and low risk patients, just as it has been doing so in case of patients with a travel history. As of now, 40 nurses and three doctors have tested positive for coronavirus at this hospital.
The authorities, after convening a meeting with the hospital administration and nurses' association, has decided to shift high- and mild-risk staff to SevenHills and Kasturba Hospital, while the low-risk ones will quarantined at isolation centres or at the hospital itself.
“Soon, positive patients will be shifted to isolation facilities at civic and private hospitals. We are categorising the patients, depending on the state of their health,” officials said. More than 200 nurses from Kerala are working at Wockhardt hospital, of whom more than 150 are currently under observation.
A nurse working at the hospital had alleged in a video message circulating on social media that more than one staffer had contracted coronavirus, but the hospital said only one person had tested positive. “As per the nurse seen speaking in the video, the hospital management did not inform the staff about the admission of a CoVID-19 patient,” said a source.
Kerala Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala tweeted: "Called Maharashtra health minister Shri Rajesh Tope seeking urgent intervention to ensure safety of 40 Covid19 positive Malayalee nurses working at a private hospital in Mumbai."
Suresh Kakani, addl municipal commissioner, health, said they had disinfected hospital, and none was being allowed to enter. “We are planning to shift the positive patients to other hospitals for treatment,” he said.
Meanwhile, members of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) have written to BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, asking him to look into this matter and take appropriate action against the hospital for not informing its staff about the admission of the corona patient.
“We demand proper training and provision of PPE to nurses who will be handling corona patients at the hospital in future. For now, the BMC should act against the hospital administration for not taking proper care of its nurses,” said Inayat Singh, JSA.
A statement released by Wockhardt Hospital on Monday read, “It is the hard truth that healthcare professionals all over the world on the front line are at the highest risk of contacting the Covid-19 infection whilst treating patients.
Unfortunately, several of our healthcare professionals have tested positive at our South Mumbai facility. The well-being of our colleagues is of paramount importance and we are doing all we can to help them in the situation.”
“The hospital adheres to the highest global standards of infection and quality control. The source of the infection is identified as a 70-year-old patient who was admitted to the hospital on March 17 for a cardiac emergency. The patient was asymptomatic (showed no symptoms of COVID19).
On March 26, the patient developed cough, and was tested for COVID19, which turned out positive. The hospital staff were unknowingly exposed to the infection in the time period. We are informing the healthcare sector at large not to be misled by asymptomatic patients,” it added.
“Our colleague nurses and the doctors identified as COVID19 positive are presently being treated. The hospital is currently declared a containment zone by the BMC, and we are closely working with the authorities.
As per the BMC protocol the hospital has been keeping all authorities informed on a daily basis about the developments within the hospital since the first patient tested positive. Meanwhile, new admissions were stopped, and the Outpatient Department was closed at Jaslok Hospital after at least one of its staff tested positive for coronavirus.
In an official statement, the Jaslok Hospital said, "The patient who was admitted in the hospital for different illness, with no travel history, was tested positive about a few days back and we had sensed the need to make diligent checks amongst staff and patients starting then, to ensure safety.
In continuation to the precautionary measure, the hospital has suspended its OPD services and elective admissions temporarily only to plan alternatively for a situation like this to be avoided in near future. We have assured the authorities that we will resume right after all measures to eradicate the suspect are taken."
It added, "With all protocols being followed, as a measure of caution, swab test of all staff members who directly or indirectly came in contact with the patient are being tested and safety measures being taken. Alongside that, we have also tested nearly 1000 staff members, and all have been tested negative.
As a responsible institution, we at Jaslok Hospital can assure you of the quality healthcare & solutions being worked upon at the hospital to cure Covid patients; in fact a recent patient after having been on the ventilator (was shifted from Kasturba) and got discharged after being cured.
Having seen the communicability of the virus, necessary steps on real time are being taken to ensure protection of other patients and treating staff in full capacity. "
