Mumbai: Even a month after BMC ordered peripheral hospitals to take responsibility for patient transfers and ambulances, the reality remains unchanged as medical staff continue to find loopholes. Late Saturday, a semi-conscious 70-year-old man, Prabhakar Bhimrao — a case of suspected bleeding in the brain — was tossed from MW Desai Hospital without any medical assistance, leaving his son, Jagannath, with no choice but to rush him to Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital in an auto-rickshaw.“We were told there is an issue with some machines. I asked for an ambulance, but once they said no, there was nothing else I could do,” he said.Jagannath alleged that MW Desai Hospital did not provide any case papers; this was also noted in the records at Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital. BMC rules note that all patients who are to be transferred to another hospital should be registered as indoor patients, and ambulance arrangements fall upon the initial hospital. “But the trick is that there is no ambulance without a case paper, and neither is there any proof. Alternatively, patients are asked to sign on DAMA papers,” explained a senior staffer from the hospital.Hospital insiders said it is frequently done to avoid heavy cases as contractual doctors take up two 24-hour shifts so they can avail themselves of six days’ leave for the rest of the week. The reason: doctors want more time for their private practice.“This is not allowed. It is leading to a situation where they’re fatigued and patients are impacted. They’re supposed to clock in eight hours every day,” the senior staffer told TOI.There are a handful of permanent doctors at MW Desai Hospital, and the rest are contractual. The hospital does not have a separate casualty department, but rather an OPD-cum-casualty where emergency cases are handled by the same four ward-level doctors.MW Desai Hospital’s Medical Superintendent, Dr Jairaj Acharya, remained unavailable for comment. Another doctor said the same arrangements were in place even before Dr Acharya took over earlier this year.
