On day viral video was shot, Sion hospital had empty morgue slots

Days after multiple videos exposed the sad state of affairs at Sion hospital another discrepancy has come to the fore According to hospital sources due to lack of coordination between ward and mortuary staff 11 of 16 cabinets set up to keep bodies of COVID19 patients were lying vacant the day a video was taken in ward 3AA hospital source said On the fateful day 11 of the cabinets in the cold storage were lying vacant Sources further said that nearly eight to 10 hospital staffers have come under scanner and they would either be warned or temporarily suspended if found guilty Newly appointed commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal will soon visit the hospital and inspect the designated COVID19 wards He will also interact with patients and treating doctorsMeanwhile Dr Ramesh Bharmal newly appointed dean of LTMG Hospital and medical director Medical Education is awaiting an internal inquiry report which was submitted to his predecessor Dr Pramod IngaleDr Bharmal who took charge on Sunday told midday We have taken steps to ensure that more patients can be accommodated and are trying to do the best to eliminate any kind of inconvenience We have increased the number of beds in the ICU by 40 and an additional 100 beds will be set up in the COVID wards Also another 120 beds will be put up at Chota Sion Hospital in Dharavi soonWe have also requested for two dedicated hearse vans and two attendants for transporting the bodies Two dedicated class 4 employees have been assigned the job of following the protocol for handling the bodies of those who die of COVID19 mopping and disinfecting them wrapping them and then handing them over to the ward boys to be taken to the cold storage They are then immediately dispatched in hearse vans Also we have placed an order for cold chain containers in which the bodies can be preserved for some time We are expecting five to be delivered soon added Dr BharmalNo waiting post deathAccording to sources the LTMG Hospital has decided not to keep any bodies in the ward for the mandatory two hours to avoid any delay in sending the body to the cold storageConfirming the same Dr Rajesh Dhere professor and head of the forensic and toxicology department said On Sunday we reported a total of 27 deaths of which seven were due to COVID19 Almost 22 bodies were dispatched by late evening Some of those whose relatives could not be traced and police paper work is awaited dispatching will take 24 to 48 hoursHe further said Due to an increase in the number of COVID19 deaths we have decided to increase the number of cabinets in the cold storage to 42 Another 16 will be kept for nonCOVID bodies Also a triage room holding area will be constructed on the ground floor of the mortuary building so that an additional 20 bodies can be kept in the airconditioning environment for eight to nine hours before they can be dispatchedPardeshis conceptSpeaking to midday earlier former civic chief Praveen Pardeshi had said We are preparing ourselves to handle all sorts of eventualities arising out of the COVID19 situation During the course of my visit to LTMG and Nair hospitals a few weeks ago to check the preparedness it was found that a number of unclaimed bodies were lying in the mortuary for months together We got such bodies disposed of with the help of the police and have set up special mortuary units to keep the bodies of those who are suspected to have died of COVID19 till the police complete formalitiesWhen asked if other peripheral hospitals or medical colleges would have similar arrangements Pardeshi had replied At present LTMG has 16 cabinets and Nair has six which are sufficient We may rope in KEM and Cooper in future if need arises Such set ups are not required in peripheral hospitalsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news