Mumbai: BMC-Run Cooper Hospital To Tackle Fire With Balls

Mid-Day's Consistent Coverage On The Fire Safety Risks At Civic-Run Hospitals Forces BMC To Install The Rs 6,000 Fireballs At Juhu Hospital.

With fire safety top of mind in the aftermath of the Kamala Mills fire that killed 14 last month, Cooper Hospital in Juhu has become the first civic-run hospital to install extinguisher balls on its premises. This comes after mid-day's audit reports on the poor fire safety conditions at BMC hospitals across Mumbai.

Mumbai Traffic Department's Road Safety Initiative Turns Out To Be A Huge Hit

According To Sources, The Campaign Has Turned Out To Be A Huge Hit Among Citizens As Over 100 People Have Participated In It In The Last Three Days.Mumbai Traffic Police in collaboration with the RTO and Rotary Club launched a special campaign, #MySafetyMyLife, this week to mark Road Safety Week. 

The campaign requires citizens to post pictures pledging to promote safety on roads, across various social media platforms. According to sources, the campaign has turned out to be a huge hit among citizens as over 100 people have participated in it in the last three days.

Andheri Athlete Participating In Olympics Needs 15 Lakh To Train

Siddhanth Thingalaya, Eyeing Olympics Race Category Where No Indian Has Participated In 55 Years, In Dire Need Of Funds; Needs Rs 15 Lakh To Continue Training.

A 27-year-old athlete from Andheri, who made headlines last June when he created a new national record in the 110m hurdles at the Altis Invitational Meet in Phoenix, Arizona, has hit one of his career's biggest obstacles. Lack of funds has come in the way of his becoming the first Indian in nearly 55 years to participate in the 110m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Gurbachan Singh Randhawa was the last Indian to race in that category at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Siddhanth Thingalaya, who has been sweating it out under famed American trainer Gary Cablayan in Los Angeles for the last three years, needs around Rs 15 lakh to continue training. His father, Umananda Thingalaya, a retired bank cashier, has already pumped in all his savings into his son's sporting career.

Now, FDA To Collect Data On TB Patients From Pharmacists

The Department Has Joined Hands With The State Government To Eradicate TB From The State By 2025. The state health department claims that 50 per cent of the TB patients who opt for treatment at private hospitals are not aware of the facilities provided at government hospitals. 

The state health department claims that 50 per cent of the TB patients who opt for treatment at private hospitals are not aware of the facilities provided at government hospitals.

BMC To Install Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines In Maternity Hospitals

In A Pilot Project, They Will First Be Installed In Five Of Its Maternity Hospitals, In An Attempt To Encourage Women To Use Them

For the first time in the city, the BMC health department will install sanitary pad vending machines, in five of its maternity hospitals. A tender regarding this has been passed and the installation will be completed by the end of February.

The five maternity hospitals include Malad Mother and Child Hospital, Marol Maternity Hospital, Anandibai Joshi Hospital at Sakinaka and one each at Oshiwara and Bhandup. The installation is an attempt to encourage women to use sanitary pads for hygiene and better health.

To encourage women
Each hospital will get one machine. "The user will have to insert Rs 5 in the vending machine for a pad," said a senior officer from the BMC health department.

Cancer Patient Sells Paintings Inspired By His Dying Blood Cells

Newton Producer Manish Mundra Promotes Cancer Patient Trying To Get Back On His Feet By Selling Paintings Inspired By His Dying Blood Cells
Newton producer Manish Mundra is doing his bit to help a cancer patient raise funds to continue his expensive treatment. Kartikey Sharma (25), a former engineering student who has been diagnosed with late-stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, is selling his paintings online to raise money for his treatment. "He is a young champ struggling at the last stage of cancer," Mundra told mid-day. "Being a painter, when I saw his paintings on social media platform, I was surprised. They are really good and meaningful. So, I decided to spread the word to encourage people to buy them."

Varun Dhawan Keeps Word, Meets Young Fan Who Helped Cancer Survivors

Alaiha Vanjara, A 13-Year-Old Bombay Scottish Student, Who Made Headlines For Her Altruism, Finally Got A Chance To Meet Her Favourite Actor Varun Dhawan On Thursday.

Alaiha Vanjara, a 13-year-old Bombay Scottish student, who made headlines for her altruism, finally got a chance to meet her favourite actor Varun Dhawan on Thursday. This is after mid-day highlighted the philanthropic act of the teenager who gave away her savings for the treatment of a child suffering from cancer. She had saved the money to paint her room in a Varun Dhawan-theme.

"What I did for the child was out of a sense of responsibility, and I am glad Varun appreciated it. Such encouragement can motivate youngsters to work towards a good cause," said Alaiha.

Matrimonial website for the mentally ill is lighting up lives

With divorces rising because one spouse had hidden a mental health issue, Nagpur psychiatrist launches matrimonial site where people can specify their mental illnesses openly and still find a match

Nothing is easy for those suffering from neurological diseases, least of all finding a life partner. And with marriage with such patients still looked down upon, it forces them to hide their illness, leading to future discord. In order to change all that, a former student of KEM hospital’s psychiatry department has created a website, www.manomarriage.com, to help such patients find their soul mates.

Applicants have to register online with a doctor’s certificate, which gets verified by a team working for the website. They must also provide complete details regarding their illness. Even those having physical challenges, like visual handicap and skin diseases, can register on this site. In fact, a person without any medical illness also can register if s/he has no qualms about marrying someone suffering from neurological or other diseases.

Mumbai surrogacy scam: Man summoned to answer for child rights violation

As mid-day had reported on May 26, Shubhangi Bhostekar filed a complaint against her estranged husband Prakash Bhostekar after she found out he had used bogus documents to secretly get a son through surrogacy. She also filed a police complaint against Jaslok Hospital and the doctors, Dr Firuza Parikh and Dr Sujaata Sawker, who helped her husband.

It was after mid-day pointed out that Prakash had procured fake documents to fool the hospital into proceeding with the surrogacy, that the Mulund police sent a letter to JJ hospital to set up a panel of experts and investigate the matter.

Hacked! Mumbai man loses Rs 84,000 in 9 swipes in 5 nations

At 9.39 pm on Wednesday, transactions were made from Chembur-based executive Bikash Kumar's credit card in pounds, dollars, rupees, pesos and euros across the world
Bikash Kumar is a thrifty man; he used his credit card all of two times, and solely to pay his electricity bills. So imagine his shock when he realised that someone else had used his card, not once, but nine times and that too in five different countries and currencies - all in a single minute.
 On Wednesday, Kumar was having a peaceful night until he received a message with a One-Time Password (OTP) for a transaction on his SBI credit card. “It was around midnight when I got the OTP. I was curious, as I hadn’t made any transaction,” he recalled.
“When I checked my email, I found that nine transactions had been made at various international websites in various currencies,” said Kumar, who lost R84,000 in a single minute.

Faulty dental implant puts 64-year-old on liquid diet for a year

The Andheri-based patient is also alleging that the dentist is withholding information that will prove negligence and that the MIDC police are refusing to take her complaint
When 64-year-old Avtar Kaur went to get dental implants, she thought she’d return with a shiny, white smile. Instead, the smile was wiped off her face altogether after the doctor botched the procedure, leaving her toothless and unable to chew any food for nearly 1.5 years. The fact that the doctor was a family friend who shrugged off all responsibility made the betrayal even harsher.
Before the surgery took place last year, Avtar had just 18 teeth, but was still able to chew her meals. But due to the worsening state of her teeth, the Andheri resident decided to consult a dentist. Last January, she visited Gurukripa Medical Trust’s Dr Jyoti Kaur Oberoi, a paediatric and preventive dentist who was also her daughter’s childhood friend.

Cancer survivors from Mumbai make India proud at international event

In rare crowdfunded effort, Tata Memorial patients donate to train 14 kids for international competition; they repay by winning 26 medals at the World Children's Winners' Games in Moscow
Don’t be fooled by Kayan Anklesaria’s slight frame or his tender age. His rich haul of medals is proof that he is made of sterner stuff. The 13-year-old brain cancer survivor won the most medals — four — in the Indian contingent at the annual World Children’s Winners’ Games held in Moscow from June 2-4.
The sports event, held exclusively for childhood cancer survivors, saw 14 Indian participants — all from Mumbai — competing with 550 children from 16 countries. The Indian cancer survivors, aged 7-16, won 26 medals — eight gold, 11 silver, and seven bronze — in five categories.

53-year-old woman dies of lung infection from fungi in pigeon droppings

Kabutarkhana in Jain temple inside Borivli East society responsible for rising cases of asthma and hypersensitive pneumonitis among residents, but BMC’s health department is yet to act on complaint.
Last year, when 26-year-old Naitik Zota took his mother Jayshri (53) to a pulmonologist following a severe bout of breathlessness, the doctor confronted him with a bizarre question: Do you have pigeons in the vicinity of your home? When Zota told him about the presence of a kabutarkhana next door, the doctor advised him to place nets on the windows of his home, and move Jayshri to a room that wouldn't be frequented by the birds. The advice, unfortunately, came late.
A few weeks later, Jayshri died of a lung infection, which the doctor alleges was the result of harmful fungi present in pigeon droppings.
Several residents of Neelkamal Cooperative Society in Borivli East, where Jayshri lived, say they too have been victims of ill health for the last eight years since the kabutarkhana came up close to their homes. They have complained of lung infection, breathing problems and asthma. After repeated complaints to local bodies fell on deaf ears, the society members filed a complaint with the BMC health department last month, demanding immediate action against the growing menace. But, the BMC is yet to act on their complaint.

No prescription required, abortion pills at doorstep

 With this line, online agencies hawk pregnancy termination pills, often to women unaware of the danger of using medication without expert help. mid-day puts itself out there as a desperate customer.
Just know this – it may sound easy to end a pregnancy with one click and a few pills, but without a doctor’s consultation, it could just as easily end your life.
Selling abortion pills without prescription and age proof is illegal and a punishable offence under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTPA). But this mid-day investigation shows just how easy it is for anybody to go online and order a pregnancy termination kit without any medical advice or understanding of the risks involved.

No steroid-based fairness creams sans prescription

FDA has written to central drug body about unauthorised use of steroids in cosmetic products. 
You may no longer be able to buy fairness creams over the counter without a doctor's prescription, and with good reason. Taking note of the excessive abuse of steroid-rich fairness creams, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and doctors have written to the Central Drug Control Authority to ask that these creams be made a prescription-only item.
Dermatologists in the city are concerned about the rising number of patients who have reported skin problems after using steroid-based fairness creams. In most cases, they buy the cream over the counter without consulting a doctor, leading to sometimes irreversible skin conditions.
"Usage of any cream with such a formula can cause several skin diseases, like thinning of the skin,

Just for a son, man has surrogate baby without telling wife

40-year-old woman, who had already filed dowry cases against in-laws, has now filed police complaint against Jaslok Hospital that facilitated a surrogate son for her husband
Prakash Bhostekar was willing to go to any length to get a son. So when his wife of 18 years could not give him a boy, he booted her and their two daughters - aged 14 and 4 years - out of the house. Nine months later, she found out that he now had a son, a boy that Jaslok Hospital gave to him via an illegal surrogacy.
"He always wanted a son, but when I refused to give my consent for surrogacy, he threw me out with my two daughters. Then he opted for surrogacy without my consent. Now he is living with his surrogate son, and has washed his hands off his other two children," said Shubhangi, who has also blamed Jaslok Hospital for ruining her and her childrens' lives. The surrogacy was handled by Dr Firuza Parikh, director of IVF and genetics at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre.

HIV+ women get newborn hope

 Living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is not easy, and it is even harder on couples who dream of becoming parents but fear passing on the virus to their children. But thanks to a new treatment scheme, these couples now have better than 90% chances of giving birth to a perfectly healthy, HIV-negative baby.
Titled ‘Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT)’, the scheme was launched in 2014, when the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) committed to ambitious testing and treatment targets to combat the AIDS epidemic.
The international organisation launched the 90-90-90 scheme in the same year, aiming for 90% early diagnosis, 90% patients on treatment and 90% suppression of virus by the year 2020.

After losing wife to dengue, man takes on mosquitoes

Jeetendra Lodha has dedicated himself to spreading awareness about dengue. The diamond trader lost his wife Rekha to the disease in September, after BMC officials allegedly ignored several warnings to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds in their locality.
Lodha led an awareness rally in Borivli yesterday to pay tribute to Rekha, whose birthday was on October 11. Around 100 people from the surrounding areas participated. Several women and girls from the Terapanth Mahila Mandal participated in the rally to spread awareness about dengue and malaria. “My wife is no more and I cannot do anything to bring her back. So, to pay a tribute to her, I arranged a rally along with the Mahila Mandal to spread awareness about the disease,” said Lodha.
Rekha was admitted to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on September 6 with symptoms of dengue. But, she succumbed to the virus on September 12 after it affected her brain and vital organs. She and Jeetendra have a son, who is in college and a daughter who is in Std IX. Before Rekha contracted the disease, BMC officials were told about the mosquito breeding grounds in the locality, however, they allegedly did not do anything to remove them.

Passing the buck
“I don’t want anyone to die like my wife did due to bureaucratic apathy. We have to take the responsibility on our shoulders. BMC keeps passing the buck. There is a huge breeding ground near a building in Yogi Nagar but they aren’t doing anything about it. So, through rallies, we want to spread awareness among people,” said Lodha. After the rally, he has also met with BMC officials to discuss more measures to spread awareness and remove mosquito breeding grounds in Yogi Nagar.

BMC says
When mid-day reached out to BMC’s Insecticide Officer Rajan Naringrekar, he said that like every year during the monsoon, they had conducted an inspection of the breeding grounds in the area. “We have done our part by spreading awareness among people. It is false claim that we are not doing anything. We have also sent notices to buildings in the areas where such grounds have been found,” he said.
102
Confirmed dengue cases in Mumbai till Oct 12
1,813
Probable dengue cases in Mumbai till Oct 12

'Harassment forced me into pre-term labour'

Cama hospital, the biggest government-run maternity hospital in the city, has found itself in a soup after a pregnant assistant professor alleged that the medical superintendent harassed her, and that this resulted in her getting pre-term labour pain, forcing her to leave her job. However, the college and Grant Medical College (GMC) have refuted these claims. 
Dr Priyanka Pohekar joined Cama and Albless Hospital on October 1, 2015, as an assistant professor in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, where, she claimed, medical superintendent Dr Rajshree Katke humiliated her frequently, which took a toll on her, leading to extreme mental and emotional stress. This then allegedly caused complications in her pregnancy, and to save her unborn child, she was forced to quit from the job. 
On August 31, she filed a complaint with the head of the department and dean of GMC. A copy of the complaint is with mid-day. 

Dengue casts shadow on pregnant women

While director of major hospitals claims situation is under control, medicos say changes in immunity make expectant mothers more vulnerable to virus.
Dahisar resident Reena Mishra (27) fought death in pregnancy after being diagnosed with dengue in the eighth month and developing health complications due to it. Today, she’s a happy and doting mother, after undergoing a C-section on August 9 that saved her as well as her child.
She, however, isn’t the only pregnant woman in the city who contracted the illness. Hospitals have reported more than 100 such cases.
Cause and effect
“There are some pregnant women undergoing treatment for dengue and dengue-like symptoms. But the situation is under control. They just need to be more careful,” said Dr Avinash Supe, Director of Medical Education and major BMC hospitals.

50% JJ doctors ducked rural service

The state government spends Rs 5 lakh on every medical student by providing basic facilities free of cost and charging minimum fees. But despite this, many medical students refuse to serve rural Maharashtra. Nearly 50 per cent of the under and post-graduate students, after passing out from one of the biggest government-run colleges, Grant Medical College, Mumbai, have opted out of a one-year bond to serve in rural Maharashtra, in the past five years.

Grant Medical College and JJ group of hospitals, are among top medical institutions in the country, but mid-day, through an RTI query, has found that out of 645 students from the under-graduate and post-graduate courses there, 354 students opted out of the bond from 2011 to 2015.
In 2013, the Bombay High Court instructed the state to ensure that all doctors, after their MBBS and PG courses, serve in rural hospitals.

This is how BMC blood banks are cheating you

Even as 2014 GR reduced cost of blood from Rs 1,050 to Rs 850, civic hospitals continue to follow the old rate card; say BMC has not sent an official circular.
In gross violation of a state government resolution, several needy patients approaching BMC-run blood banks have been forced to shell out extra for blood, owing to bureaucratic apathy on the part of the civic body.
In 2014, the state government had passed a resolution, reducing the cost of blood by R200 — from Rs 1,050 to Rs 850 — at all government and civic hospitals. However, two years on, many BMC-run hospitals are still following the old rate card. The reason: They haven't been given the go-ahead by the BMC yet.
"We are following the old rate as we haven't received an official letter from the BMC about the new rate. When we get it, we will follow it," said a BMC officer, working at one of the blood banks. The information was revealed in an RTI query. It was learnt that leading civic hospitals like Sion Hospital, Bhabha Hospital, VN Desai Hospital and Cooper Hospital have been charging Rs 200 extra from private hospital patients, who require blood on an emergency basis. Civic hospitals provide free blood to patients admitted to their hospitals.
Earlier this week, Abhijit Shinde, a resident of Sion, had admitted his wife to a private hospital after she had to be operated on for a tumour in her uterus. Doctors had recommended that he procure two units of blood from Sion Hospital. But, unaware of the cap imposed on the price of blood, Shinde, on Saturday, bought the blood for Rs 1,050. Like him, families of at least 40 patients who approached these four blood banks, ended up paying Rs 200 more.

Slimming pills cause nothing but health issues, claims FDA

As hundreds fall prey to false advertising for slimming pills, FDA jumps into action with state-wide raid on stores peddling the harmful drugs.
Thinking of popping a pill to shed all that excess weight quickly and easily?
A fat lot of good that’ll do – many of these so-called slimming and quick weight-loss pills do nothing but cause health problems like nausea, irregular heartbeats and insomnia.
Alarmed by the rate at which unsuspecting customers are falling prey to this money-spinning industry, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now launched a state-wide raid on pharmacies peddling the products, most of which are easily available over the counter at pharmacies across the state.

No psychiatrists in drought areas

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday raised the need to counsel farmers in the state Assembly to help curb farmer suicides.
However, it has come to light that Marathwada and Vidarbha that record the highest number of farmer suicides, do not have a single psychiatrist in the seven government hospitals to counsel them.
This year, more than 1,000 farmers committed suicide in the state due to the continuing agrarian crisis for successive years. To address the issue, the central government is laying importance on the counselling of the depressed farmers in drought-prone areas.

Each week, JJ Hospital treats abused boys

Twelve-year-old Arijit Chauhan (name changed) used to lie awake at night because of the pain caused by blisters on his private parts. When his parents finally took him to JJ Hospital for a check up, they were shocked to learn that their son was suffering from a sexually transmitted disease caused by sexual abuse.
“Every week, we receive 2-3 such cases in which a boy is sexually abused. Some of them are so severe, that they require surgical intervention,” said Dr Minakshi Nalbale Bhosale, a paediatric surgeon from the hospital.

100 farmers to auction their organs

Condemning a recent incident where a debt-ridden farmer was forced to sell his kidney, 100 farmers from Aurangabad will hold a protest on Thursday where they will auction their organs to the public to repay their debt.
“We are suffocating under the burden of debt. Every day, goons of moneylenders keep knocking at our doors. Due to this, we can’t even go outside. We have no other option but to sell our body parts,” said Jayaji Suryavanshi, a farmer and social activist.
At a time when the government is keen to counsel debt-ridden farmers to stop them from ending their lives, farmers appear dissatisfied with the

62 per cent medical consultant posts lie vacant in BMC hospitals

Despite increasing the monthly salary of specialty medical consultants to Rs 75,000 in hand, the 18 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) peripheral hospitals in the city are facing an acute staff shortage of 62 per cent.
There are total 217 posts in five branches of medical consultants — medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, surgery and anesthesia in these hospitals. Out of these only 84 seats have been filled up, while remaining 133 posts are lying vacant for years.

HIV+ former sex worker becomes a Masters student

Kruti Khan (name changed on request) was around 26 when she realised that she had been infected with HIV. As she had been working as a sex worker for almost a decade, it was not possible for her to determine whom she received the infection from. However, being HIV positive did not stop Kripa from following her dreams. Determined to be successful in life, Kruti took up studying again and graduated with a degree in BCom and is currently doing her Masters in IT from a state open university.

Fund crunch puts infants at risk

An awareness programme aimed at helping HIV pregnant women to save their babies from contracting the infection is set to die a sudden death. The programme, which had been running for decades, will be discontinued from today as National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has refused to grant funds for it to Maharashtra. Every other state in the country has, however, been granted its share of the fund.
Reshma Khan (name changed), the 27-year-old resident of Nerul gave birth to a child two months ago at JJ Hospital. But she can’t breastfeed her baby as the HIV virus in her blood might get transferred to the infant who has born without the infection.

Blood going waste in BR Ambedkar hospital

The cold storage centre for blood at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital has been lying unused and gathering dust for the past two years. The municipal corporation hospital was renovated at an expense of `100 cr in 2013. While patients who visit the hospital are suffering and donated blood is getting wasted from the lack of cold storage facility, government bodies are busy passing the buck.
Two years ago, the state government had a plan to set up nine blood storage units in Mumbai that would operate under the primary blood bank, Sir JJ Mahanagar Raktapedhi in Byculla. But as per a Right to Information (RTI) application, a request for plan approval of blood storage center at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital was submitted to Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) twice on December 9, 2013 and July 16, 2014. Further, on November 17, 2014 and May 11, 2015 the hospital had again sent two letters to FDA asking about the status of the application. But no response has yet been received by the hospital authority.