BMC unable to provide primary healthcare in western suburbs
Mumbai : Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is unable to provide primary healthcare in areas of Mumbai, especially western suburbs which have become the most-populated areas in recent times. The annual health report of Praja Foundation, which was released on Tuesday, highlighted that the availability of government hospitals ranges from 1-3 and government dispensaries ranges from 4-7 in Dahisar, Andheri, Kandivali and Goregaon.
The report also revealed a startling fact about the current state of public health wherein areas such as Byculla, Parel, Matunga and Thane which are less populated as compared to western suburbs have higher number of government hospitals and dispensaries. In the past few years, city people have migrated to suburban areas which have made western areas the worst hit of the entire lot, explained Milind Mhaske, project director of Praja Foundation.
Majority of slum population is resided in western suburbs which cannot afford to visit a private hospital even for basic health care, Mhaske added. The organisation further emphasised that BMC corporators and authorities should identify slum population in the city and accordingly come up with government hospitals and dispensaries which can provide free or affordable treatment to lower income groups.
Leader of BJP in the BMC, Manoj Kotak, said, “There has been lot of issues such as land availability, staff crunch and non-availability of resources which hampered our plans of setting up hospitals in these areas. We understand that there is an urgent need for government and BMC hospitals in the western so that people can afford health care facilities and do not suffer.”
A white paper on the state of health of Mumbai which includes all our new plans, suggestions for the betterment of our public healthcare which will be submitted to the additional municipal commissioner in the next few days, Kotak added.
Manasi Tahalani
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Swine flu cases increasing in city
Mumbai : Erratic weather condition has aggravated swine flu virus in the city which has led to a rise in the cases of H1N1, say health experts. The city reported 11 new cases of swine flu from civic and government hospitals on Thursday taking the total count of swine flu cases to 114 in this month.
Civic health officials claim swine flu has raised its head again and has claimed 26 lives so far this year, of which five deaths were reported in July alone. They added that fluctuating temperatures has aggravated the virus, following which, it is able to survive in the environment. Dr Minni Khetarpal, head of epidemiology cell at BMC said, “Swine flu is no more a seasonal disease and has gripped the city in past few months. All we can do is be cautious and prevent ourselves from falling prey to the disease.”
Health experts emphasise on taking necessary precautionary measures and seeking early treatment. They further added that people should not ignore symptoms such as fever, chills as they are the early signs of any disease.
Dr Shahid Bharmare, consultant physician at Kohinoor Hospital, said, “Considering the current climate, people can fall prey to flu and infections. Therefore, it is crucial that people take good care by eating healthy food which includes fruits, vegetables and juices. Strong immunity system enables one to fight the disease.
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