As cases rise, docs slam return to initial testing rule - The Times Of India... https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.as...

As cases rise, docs slam return to initial testing

rule
Vijay V Singh & Sumitra Deb Roy TNN

Mumbai:

An anaesthetist in the city said he had to postpone two surgeries on Friday as he couldn’t prescribe
Covid-19 tests after the BMC order late on Thursday barring tests except when approved by the civic
health officer. “Testing on a private doctor’s prescription is currently not permitted,” said a message from
one of the private labs to a doctor. “If physicians, surgeons cannot advise a test, what is the point of
coercing us to open clinics and hospitals?” said a Goregaon-based doctor.

Doctors slammed the new rules saying it was as good as returning to the strategy followed in the early
days of the outbreak. “The initial protocol was that patients had to be admitted in Kasturba and wait for
their reports. But we had a few hundred cases then, and today we have 12,000,” said the Goregaon doctor.

Another senior surgeon, who runs his own hospital in the western suburbs, rued that patients are already
delaying coming to hospitals and undergoing surgeries. “Who would want to go and get admitted to a civic
quarantine facility only to undergo a test? More importantly, what should we do if people come to us with
an emergency or a semi-emergency?” asked the doctor, adding that they have approached BMC to
reconsider their decision.

However, ward officers on Friday allowed them to write tests for vulnerable people, like pregnant women.
Many BMC officials were not happy with Pardeshi’s direction, issued late on Thursday to private
laboratories and assistant municipal commissioners (ward officers). Interestingly, no written order had
been issued till Pardeshi’s transfer order came in on Friday. They pointed out that many people may not go
for the test to avoid spending time in BMC quarantine centres, and also the BMC could ask people to
come back later if a centre was full, creating more problems for poor symptomatic patients.

The move came as a hurdle as Mumbai was ramping up Covid-19 testing. It recently crossed the landmark
of over one lakh tests in less than two months since the first case in the city on March11.

Pardeshi defended his rule tweak, saying: “There were several complaints that rich people were getting
their servants, cooks, drivers tested through private labs (including those who didn’t have symptoms), and
it was adding to the load on testing facilities. So, we decided all tests should be done through us and the
person has to remain in our quarantine facility for two days or till his report was out.”

Asked about inadequate institutional quarantine facilities as daily there are complaints people are not
getting beds, Pardeshi said: “We have 40,000 beds in the quarantine facilities, of which hardly a few
thousands are occupied. We are creating more beds. Also, if someone doesn’t want to stay in these
civicrun quarantine facilities, they are free to opt for quarantine in paying hotels.”

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