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Public Health / Sanitation

BMC team to review security in hospitals

Thursday, 18 November 2010 11:15 administrator
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Hindustan Times  18.11.2010

BMC team to review security in hospitals

After a spate of child-theft incidents from civic hospitals, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has formed a team to review the security arrangements in hospitals. The city has three major hospitals - KEM, Nair and Sion -  and 16 periphery hospitals. It will install hi-tech biometric and vein-tracking system in hospitals.

The special vein imaging system will be the first of its kind in the country. It captures images of the newborn's vein formation and the mother's thumb impression and tallies them while they are discharged. The mother and baby are discharged only if their characteristics match the recorded images.

The system was installed in the civic-run Sion hospital after a new born baby of Mohan and Mohini Nerurkar was stolen from the hospital in 2008.

The BMC will replicate the system in all hospitals.

"The system has helped crack a baby swapping case in Sion hospital and we will install the same system in other hospitals," said Standing Committee chairman, Rahul Shewale.

"The system can also scan the iris so it will help us keep records of burqa-clad women who come to the hospitals," said a senior civic official.

A team has been set up to plug the loopholes in the existing security set-up.

Civic officials said that after the incident, the BMC will review the CCTVs in all hospitals and will check their status and see if more CCTVs are needed.

The team, under the security officer of the BMC, will survey the hospitals to check whether if the CCTVs are in place and if they have been damaged them will be replaced and newer ones will be installed.

"We will inspect all hospitals to check the working of all CCTVs," said another security officer.

Six hundred posts of security personnel for the hospitals are still vacant.

"We have all the sanctions and will fill up these posts soon," said SV Kulkarni, Chief Security Officer.

A total of 550 security personnel posts were filled up in 2008.

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 November 2010 11:17
 

Clean up dirty streets in city

Thursday, 18 November 2010 10:56 administrator
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The New Indian Express  18.11.2010

Clean up dirty streets in city

BANGALORE: Expresso had published a report titled “A tale of filth” citing the problems faced by the residents of Bharathinagar on November 2. Ironic as it may seem, the road outside the Bangalore Water Supply And Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had fallen prey to an unprecedented scale of garbage dumping. Not only was this mounting trash pile a massive eyesore but the stench emanating from these dump sites made it impossible for one to reside in this ward.

To top it all, the garbage supply was contaminated with remnants of perishable food such as meat, dairy products and eggs. Residents, time and again, appealed to the authorities for an effective waste disposal system but the pleas have apparently fallen on deaf ears.

However, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) clarifies: The Assistant Executive Engineer of Shivajinagar sub-division has visited the ward and submitted a detailed report stating the issues faced by people here. The garbage from push carts and auto tippers, and from various roads and crossroads of this ward, is being brought to the Memorial street and loaded onto the trucks for disposal.

After clearing the pile of trash, some of the residents resort to dumping waste on streets which not only poses a serious threat to health but messes up the roads.

Strict measures will be taken in order to ensure cleanliness in the ward hereafter.

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 November 2010 10:58
 

Civic body reworks cancer hospital plan, seeks Wadala land

Thursday, 18 November 2010 10:26 administrator
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Indian Express                  18.11.2010

Civic body reworks cancer hospital plan, seeks Wadala land

Express News Service Tags : civic run cancer hospital, Andheri land, mumbai Posted: Thu Nov 18 2010, 01:45 hrs

Mumbai: The BMC has reworked its plans for a civic-run cancer hospital. While such a hospital had originally been planned on an Andheri land, later given on lease to the Seven Hills group, the civic body has now approached the government seeking to set up an exclusive women and children’s cancer hospital on a Wadala land occupied by the State AIDS Society. Director of BMC hospitals Dr Sanjay Oak said, “A detailed proposal for the project has been submitted to the government. A specialised cancer hospital is urgently needed, and we feel there is a lot of land in the AIDS Society plot that can be judiciously utilised for this.” He said the hospital would be jointly run by the BMC’s King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) and Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH). The project would be completely funded by the Tata Hospital under a Directorate of Atomic Energy (DAE) scheme, while staff members from both hospitals would help in running the hospital.

The civic body is keen to ensure that the project does not suffer the fate of the abandoned Marol cancer hospital project. Standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale said, “The AIDS epidemic has been controlled to a great extent while the number of cancer cases, particularly among women, are rising. The BMC is determined to see that the project passes through.”

The cancer hospital proposed on a 17-acre Marol plot was scrapped in 2005 owing to paucity of funds and the land was then leased to Seven Hills Group for 60 years. 

Sources said the civic body had applied for a lease extension on the state-owned Wadala plot, which now houses three AIDS societies — the Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS) and Avert Society. “The current lease expires early next year. We have requested for an extension of 99 years for the cancer hospital,”said Shewale.

Incidentally, Shewale had announced the project at a TMH event on Monday, attended by DAE chairman Dr Srikumar Banerjee.

Former state health minister Suresh Shetty said, “Additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar and Dr Sanjay Oak had approached us with the idea. My department had communicated that it seemed like a sound proposal, but had asked for details.”

BMC sources said the total number of beds had not been decided yet. “The idea is still at a nascent stage. We are awaiting a formal confirmation from the state, and then deadlines and other details will be finalised,”Dr Oak said.

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 November 2010 10:28
 
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