Plans for vaccines ready, there shouldn't be glitches: Additional Municipal Commissioner

The man behind the scenes in BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani who has been handling the Health Department had a rollercoaster of 2020 Having been at work for nine months without a break he managed to evade COVID19 In an interview Kakani tells midday of the challenges ahead and the agenda for health infrastructure in the cityCivic medical officers during a training session for vaccine administration in Dadar West Kakani said vaccination plans at the microlevel are in place File picHow would you describe the experience of working during a pandemicWhen I joined the BMC in December 2019 I hardly knew I would be constantly on my toes managing a pandemic But I have learned how to rise above challenges and not give up We saw the worst situations but kept coming up with ideas to manage things and move forward We are hoping the new strain stays away from the cityHow did your family react to you being on the field every dayThey have been supportive The pandemic helped me motivate my daughter a recent MBBS graduate to work in a COVID ward and witness the situation firsthand Tough times teach you to be good at your workDid you get leave during these monthsNo I have not been able to take leave and not falling sick was on top of my agendaWhat key decisions were gamechangers in COVID managementPeople are already aware of steps like jumbo centres caps on the private hospitals bills the task force of expert doctors But one important move was providing oxygen through the turbo system instead of the earlier manual one where oxygen cylinders have to be filled It was very timeconsumingAre there cases of the mutated COVID strain in the cityThere are around 20 people who came from the UK and tested positive The samples are being tested at Punes National Institute of Virology We hope it is not present six of the 20 patients have recovered and tested negativeWhat is the plan for vaccinationsPlans at the microlevel related to storage transport vaccination centres training of staff are in place Our model centre at Cooper hospital will be ready by Saturday and replicated by others Vaccine implementation should take place without glitchesIs there an update on the chargesThere are absolutely no plans or discussions as there are no directives from the central or state governmentHow will BMC ensure fair distributionThis is entirely technologydriven People will have to enrol on the CoWin application so that the process is fair and there is no manual interventionWhere do you think the BMC excelled and failed in COVID managementWe have been successful in keeping the mortality rate in check and have been focussing on giving critical patients extra attention However we found it extremely difficult in the beginning when the line of treatment was not set and many were clueless This was our low point but later with the task force and the involvement of experts we coped up Now there are hardly any cases in the slums which was a major fear initially But we tackled it well Our entire staff must be applauded for thisKnowing its importance now how does BMC plan to update health infrastructureWe have plans to renovate Sion hospital We are also planning to introduce health cards and health calendars Through health cards health officials will reach out to citizens and track illnesses This will ensure focused healthcare facilities For example if through this drive it is found a particular ward has more TB patients than others TB care will be given to it Health calendars will inform people of what diseases can happen in which place in what seasonAnd what are the new plans for health facilitiesWe will be developing five new facilities Of the five facilities one is planned at Chandivli another at Govandi Work is likely to begin in 2021SixNo of patients in the 20 who have recovered20No of passengers who arrived from UK who have tested positive