Mumbai: Row over child ICU at JJ hospital

Tension is brewing between the Dean of Sir JJ Hospital and the Department of Paediatrics over the shifting of 15bed Paediatric Intensive Care Unit PICU from its main building to Balaram building While the move is aimed at making space for a new geriatric ward sources told midday that there is not enough space in the Balaram building and it may even put the lives of the children at risk The department has written to the JJ hospitals dean urging that the PICU be shifted to another floor of the main building itselfSources from the hospital said that the dean and superintendent have been mounting pressure on the paediatric department to shift the PICU on the ground floor of Balaram building which superspeciality doctors hardly visitldquoAt present the PICU is located in a bigger space in the main building and it is convenient for superspeciality doctors to make rounds there But if itrsquos shifted to the Balaram building the child patients at PICU will suffer They will have to be rushed to superspeciality doctors in another building for which paediatricians will first have to make requests for an ambulancerdquo the source told middayThe dean of JJ hospital said that the PICU needs to be shifted to make way for a new geriatric ward File picIn addition sources added infection control protocols will be compromised as the entry for PICU will be through Ward 39 and in case of emergency the limited emergency exit will be chaotic and disastrousAlso Read Mumbai City on road to being CovidfreeHoD writes to DeanDr Bela Verma head of the department Paediatrics wrote to Dean Dr Pallavi Saple last month explaining the effects the move will have on the patients ldquoDr Verma wrote that the references to superspecialist departments including paediatric surgery neurosurgery ophthalmology orthopaedic etc are not attended in time due to the distance between the two buildings And if the PICU is shifted to the Balaram building criticallyill patients need to be transported for which one needs to have an ambulance This will definitely delay the treatmentrdquo said the sourceOne of the nurses told midday that Dr Verma also advised the dean to at least relocate the PICU to another floor in the main building so that the super specialists can easily visit the criticallyill patients ldquoBut she is adamant and not listening to anyonerdquo she addedNot enough spaceldquoIf the entire PICU is shifted on the ground floor at Balaram building it will be a sheer violation of National Medical Commission NMC guidelines for interpatient distance There has to be a distance of at least one metre between two bedsrdquo said a nurse at the hospital adding that there is also no space for nursesrsquo and doctorsrsquo stations thereldquoThe area in the ward to accommodate patient beds along with all the ICU instruments per patient per bed which includes CentralMonitoring Station syringe pumps ventilators etc is inadequate and not as NMC normsrdquo said the nurseA ward boy said ldquoThere are eight big beds and seven small trolleys at the PICU The area where PICU at present is located in the main building is over 1500 sq ft But it is now being shifted to a space which is less than 1000 sq ft So naturally there will be congestion as the distance between beds will be inadequaterdquoAnother ward boy said ldquoThere is no store room for numerous machinery equipment cupboards linen and even for petty supply items The hospital management must think about thisrdquoHow it was earlierldquoThe building where the department of paediatrics was located since many years was demolished in 2018 The PICU was first shifted temporarily to a skin building and then to the main building in February 2019 Rest of the units of the department of paediatrics are located in the Balaram building which is very congestedrdquo said a ward boyA nurse said ldquoEarlier there was a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit NICU on the ground floor of Balaram building It has now been shifted to the first floor near the maternity ward and the space has been cleared for PICU But this will create a lot of chaosrdquoldquoThe NICU shared the washrooms with that of Ward 39 patients And in the absence of a separate washroom the infection in the child patients of PICU can increaserdquo she addedlsquoAdmin not paying heedrsquoldquoWe have been requesting for beds in the newborn sections for inhouse mothers who are also patients as they need to be present to take care of their children But our requests are not being heard by the deanrdquo the nurse addedShe said ldquoAbove all a senior medical officer has been influencing us to silently abide by the orders of the dean But we are not here to follow the orders but to give our services to poor patients The orders will not be followed at the cost of patientsrsquo safetyrdquoDeanSpeakWhen contacted Dean Dr Saple said ldquoSomeone is giving you wrong information No tension is brewing for anything on the campusrdquoldquoThe PICU was shifted to the main building on a temporary basis Since the entire department of paediatrics is located in one building it will be convenient for everyone if PICU is also shifted there on the ground floorrdquo clarified Dr SapleWhen asked for the reason behind the move the dean told midday that the PICU needs to be shifted out of the main building as a new degree course for geriatric medicine has to be started at the hospitalFeb rsquo19Month when PICU was shifted to the main building1000 sq ftArea given to PICU on ground floor of Balaram building