BJP's Kirit Somaiya writes 10-point letter to Minister Rajesh Tope on 'KEM Hospital Chaos'

Maharashtra BJP Vice President and former MP Kirit Somaiya on Friday in a letter to state Health Minister Rajesh Tope asked whether his ministry will pay attention to "KEM Hospital Chaos" In the letter, Somaiya claimed that Nurses, Ward boys are stressed and in "No cooperation mode" He also stated that there is a lack of ventilators and patients are waiting for admission in the hospital.

'Hundreds of staff members getting infected'

Somaiya said, "Corona dead bodies lined up and also getting disappeared and dead bodies are also lying for hours in-wards with patients under treatment." He added, "KEM hospital has Committed Team of Medical/Paramedical but they are heavily overburdened and are in mess." The former MP also mentioned that medical students were threatened by management saying, "if they are infected with Coronavirus, they will have to give an explanation and face disciplinary action."

Protest at KEM hospital

On May 26, the death of a health worker at the King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital had triggered a protest by employees alleging apathy by the city civic body towards their working conditions during the coronavirus crisis. The paramedics and doctors protested outside the hospital in masks and protective gears.

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A staff union official at KEM, a municipal hospital, claimed the worker was not sanctioned sick leave despite complaining about body pain. "The worker had complained of body ache and weakness over the last two days but he was not sanctioned leave," the official said. He also claimed the worker hardly received any treatment and was not even tested for Coronavirus.

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"His death shows the civic administration's apathy towards us. If we are not given (basic protection like) gloves and face shields, our life could be in danger," he said. Like other healthcare facilities, the KEM Hospital, run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, has been stretched to the limit because of rising virus cases and inadequate staff.

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With 1,442 persons testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Mumbai on Thursday till 6 pm, the city's COVID-19 tally rose to 44,704. There are 25,141 active COVID-19 cases in Mumbai at present. The number of recovered in the city soared to 18,098 after 626 patients were discharged from various hospitals in the day. 48 deaths were reported on Thursday taking Mumbai's death toll to 1,465.

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(With PTI inputs)