Geocare, Pune (2025)

29/10/2012

NAGPUR: The regional centre of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik, at the Government Medical College and Hospital in the city is organizing a basic workshop on Research Methodology from October 29 to 31.

Scientific training about research in medical education will be imparted to the participants. Some 40 teachers and post graduate students in various disciplines under MUHS like medical, ayurvedic, dental, homeopathy, nursing, physiotherapy are the participants for this workshop.

Dr PG Dixit, coordinator of the centre told TOI that it i s the first workshop organized independently by this regional centre under the expansion programme of this regional centre. MUHS vice vhancellor Dr Arun Jamkar has taken a leading role in this regard.

Dr Rawat and Dr Tapnikar have been appointed as Prof Emeritus and assistant professor respectively in this regional centre. Many more workshops are planned in the coming day. Experienced teachers like Dr Suresh Chari, Dr Mohan Khamgaokar, Dr Uday Narlawar, from GMCH, Nagpur, Indira Gandhi Government Medical College (IGGMC), NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences (NKPSIMS) and Shree Ayurvedic Medical College have been appointed as faculties of this workshop.

29/10/2012

MUMBAI: The public health department has directed civil surgeons to conduct a proper medical test of mentally deficient children's (MDC). "The periodical tests of these kids will help indentifying health issues, malnourishment cases and other problems faced by these vulnerable children," a senior health department official said.

The directives were given by T C Benjamin (additional chief secretary health).

Earlier the Bombay High Court had observed that of the total shelter home only 59 per cent of these are registered under the Juvenile Justice Act and a mere 22 per cent homes had even updated medical reports of the children.

The health department organized a meeting of civil surgeons and in the meeting the doctors were sensitised about the rules pertaining to the child sexual and physical abuse cases. "According to the provision of the new act if any individual comes to know about the sexual or physical abuse case, then it will be mandatory for him/her to report about the incident to the police," Dr Asha Bajpai, Dean, school of law, said.

Meanwhile the department has asked doctors to discontinue old traditional way of testing r**e victims and adopt latest forensic science methodology for such tests, if needed.

22/10/2012

CHANDIGARH: Hundreds of patients had to suffer at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32 on Saturday, following the strike of para-medical and clerical staff of hospital from 8am to 9.30am protesting delay in salaries.

According to rules, para-medical and clerical staff working on contract gets their salary by 10th every month, but reportedly this month they have not received it yet. Hospital gives the salary amount to the contractor and the contractor pays it to the staff of around 150 people, sources revealed. Work was resumed after the hospital administration handed over the salary amount to the contractor which was later given to the staff. Meanwhile, the strike resulted in hundreds of people suffering as many reach early in the morning to get their cards made. Timings for the registration of the cards are from morning 8am to 11am but people generally start reaching at 7am.

Resident of Kharar Ajit Singh said, "I reached early in the morning to avoid long queues, but was forced to wait till 10 because of the strike. If there is a problem between the management and staff, it's unfair to make the people suffer for it." GMCH director principal Dr Raj Bahadur said, "The salaries did get delayed, but after the strike we immediately gave it to the contractor who paid the staff."

22/10/2012

NAGPUR: Cardiologists believe that many a times a heart patient can manage his health well by consulting his family physician rather than rushing to a specialist. Not only will this make treatment more cost-effective for the patients, but it will also help form a support system as the number of cardiologists in the country is small and patients are increasing exponentially.

This fact was stressed during a symposium organized by the Vidarbha chapter of Association of Physicians of India. Renowned cardiologists like Dr Ajit Bhagwat from Aurangabad, Dr Kaustubh Vaidya from Mumbai, city's Dr Mahesh Fulwani and Dr Neetin Deshpande updated the knowledge of the physicians during the event.

"Access to cardiologists, who are super specialists is very low as is their number, especially in smaller towns. It is not even cost effective for a person suffering from heart attack to visit a cardiologist time and again. In this situation, physicians can form a big support system to both the patients and doctors," said Dr Bhagwat. They can also help by recognizing the patients who may require certain procedures as preventive measures as they are well acquainted with a patient's personal and family medical history," he added.

Dr Fulwani said that there were only 30 cardiologists in Nagpur, though it serves as a medical hub for all the nearby states. "This itself shows the need to have physicians helping heart patients wherever possible," he said.

"About 80% of the job required to take care of a person after he has suffered from a heart attack can be handled by a general physician. It entails regular follow-ups, observing their medication and dosage, monitoring their lifestyle among other things," said Dr Bhagwat.

Agreed Dr Vaidya, giving an example of Mumbai where there was a separate system of Golden Hour Ambulances to deal with patients needing emergency care. "In cardiology, we say time is the only muscle that can save the heart muscle. Being the first people most families call in times of distress, a well trained physician can prove a boon to a heart patient," he said. This is especially needed when we look at the high number of heart patients many of whom are youngsters.

"The ratio of cardiologists to patients is not so bad in metros as it is in smaller towns and villages. This is mainly because there is a lot of infrastructure required to have a good cardiac care facility. Another problem is that we do not have documented studies that tell us the exact figures of those suffering from cardiac problems," he said.

16/10/2012

LUCKNOW: New estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO) show around 24 million adults require palliative care at the end of life each year and 66 per cent of these are over 60 years old. Despite this growing need, 42 per cent countries have still no identified hospice and palliative care service, while 80 per cent of people globally lack adequate access to medication for treatment of moderate to severe pain. This means millions of older people, especially in the developing world, are living and dying in unnecessary pain and distress.

The fact came to fore at an event to mark World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, organised by a private palliative care hospital here on Saturday. Chief guest director All India Institute on Medical Sciences Bhopal, Dr Sandeep Kumar said, "Millions of people die in needless suffering simply because they are denied access to appropriate pain relief and social support. This care is not expensive, and everyone has a right to it."

Geriatric physician Dr Abhishek Shukla, who runs the centre said, "There is a misconception that palliative care is primarily for people with cancer. But, this is not true. Those in need of palliative care dying from Alzheimer and other dementias, Parkinson disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, nephritis and nephrosis and cancer are predominantly in the over-60 age group and need palliative care."

The focus of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day this year included universal access to hospice and palliative care for older people living with and dying from, life-limiting conditions, including non-communicable conditions, adequate support, training, supplies and equipment.

16/10/2012

AHMEDABAD: Medical Council of India (MCI) has suspended the registration of 25 doctors from all over the country including one from Gujarat. The suspension will bar the doctors from practising anywhere in India. The doctors were accused of giving false information regarding their status as permanent faculty at colleges and investigations were carried out by CBI.

Dr Bhuva Bhavin Ambavibhai was registered with Gujarat Medical Council. He completed his MBBS in 2000 and earned the MS degree in general surgery in 2003.

MCI officials said that his name was on the official records of a Tamil Nadu-based medical college as a fulltime assistant professor. However, there were complaints that he used to practise in Rajkot and did not function as a fulltime faculty.

Officials of the MCI Ethics Committee said that they had received complaints against 32 doctors for giving misleading information regarding their work as fulltime faculties.

A showcause notice was issued to all 32 doctors following which they were found guilty of violating the Medical Code of Ethics. "After taking into consideration the allegation contained in the CBI report, oral testimony and written statement of 25 doctors, the committee has concluded that the said doctors gave false and misleading information regarding their working in medical college to the assessors during the college assessment," says the ethics committee report.

These doctors have committed professional misconduct, contravening the terms of Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. The committee accordingly recommended "the punishment of removal of names of the erring doctors from the register maintained by the concerned State Medical Councils and subsequently from the Indian Medical Register for a period ranging three to five years."

11/10/2012

BANGALORE: The health ministry of Karnataka has reacted strongly to rising incidences of dengue in Bangalore. Principal secretary, health and family welfare department, M Madan Gopal on Tuesday directed the BBMP to impose a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the builder, who is constructing a site adjacent to the Sophia High School in the city.

The ongoing construction near the school and the alleged unhygienic conditions prevailing inside the school premises are being blamed for mosquito breeding, which has lead to dengue and resulted in death of 3 students of Sophia school this year. Karnataka has registered 21 deaths due to dengue this year. Bangalore has 'officially' lost four people to dengue but unofficial deaths due to suspected dengue fever is said to be more than 20 in the city this year.

"Two cases of positive dengue were confirmed in the city on Tuesday. We are taking all the necessary steps. We have directed BBMP to step up fogging and spraying activities in dengue affected areas. Also individual households must take measures to prevent mosquito breeding, if we maintain cleanliness and don't allow collection of stagnant water around we can prevent breeding of dengue mosquitoes," said Madan Gopal.

The government is also ready to set up fever testing booths if the situation demands. A High Power Committee under the Commissioner of Health department will conduct a review meeting of vector borne diseases every Saturday, said Madan Gopal. The government is also seeking help from all the nursing colleges from the State. The students of nursing colleges would be enrolled for door-to-door surveillance of dengue cases.

11/10/2012

MUMBAI: One in five su***des occurs due to mental illnesses, but the basic health infrastructure such as beds for patients have not seen a proportional rise in the city, say experts.

While only a fraction of the mentally ill needs hospitalization at any given time, the patient pool here is huge: one in 5 women and one in 10 men are depressed at some point in their lives. Serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder each affect 1% of the population. Said a doctor, "There are rehabilitation clinics/homes that the wealthy can afford, but what about the majority of patients?"

Moreover, there is a bias against maintaining a full-fledged psychiatry ward in most private hospitals. Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla, who heads the department in Masina Hospital and consults in the government-run J J and G T hospitals, says the bias creeps in from the time of the hospitals' inception. "Most hospitals boast of an out-patient department for psychiatry, but do not encourage in-patients," he adds. One reason could be the stringent criteria laid down for infrastructure meant for the mentally ill. "There also is some degree of stigma attached to mental illness as far as the private hospitals are concerned," he adds.

Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty says the issue of mental health has been neglected by the government. "The number of beds in all other specialties in general hospitals has gone up, except for psychiatry. The civic health posts are involved in house-to-house surveys for malaria and polio, but no work on su***de prevention has been initiated," he points out.

However, not all agree. Dr Shubhangi Parkar, head of the psychiatry department at civic-run KEM Hospital, said: "There has not been an increase in the number of beds in the past 10 years, but the 90 beds that we have are enough."

Dr Sanjay Kumawat, former medical superintendent at Thane Mental Hospital, said Maharashtra's four mental hospitals have 5,000-plus beds. "The number of beds for mentally ill patients isn't bad in Mumbai," he added.

However, a senior doctor said, "It's the poor who don't have adequate facilities for counselling or hospitalization."

10/10/2012

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation's standing committee on Tuesday deferred a decision on the controversial agreement with Aundh Institute of Medical Sciences to run its multi-specialty hospital on a public-private-partnership basis.

The general body of the PMC had signed an agreement with AIMS in this regard in 2003. However, several social organisations and political parties have been opposing the arrangement, claiming that it was not beneficial for the underprivileged. Opposing the proposal, Republican Party of India corporator Siddharth Dhende had tabled a suggestion a couple of weeks back seeking cancellation of the agreement.

"No decision was taken on the issue," Baburao Chandere, standing committee chairman, said on Tuesday. The committee has decided to send the proposal to the civic administration for its opinion. A final decision on whether to scrap the agreement will be taken after the civic administration gives its opinion. The administration has been given 15 days' time to reply, he added.

Activists of RPI and Jan Arogya Manch on Tuesday staged demonstrations on the premises of corporation, demanding cancellation of the agreement. The model will deprive the poor of low-cost treatment, they said.

"It is the responsibility of the PMC to provide basic health services to citizens, but under the garb of PPP, it wants to privatize its services. This initiative means nothing, but handing over PMC's assets into private hands," said the press releases issued by them.

10/10/2012

CHENNAI: A mentally ill man is reportedly missing from the Institute of Mental Health in Kilpauk for more than a week.

John Peter, 26, from Ayanavaram had been admitted to the hospital on July 25. His mother came to see him last week and found him missing form his ward. She lodged a complaint with the Secretariat Colony police after first searching for him at the houses of relatives.

Peter's family said he had been undergoing regular treatment at IMH since 1998 and was admitted as an in-patient in July. "We used to visit the hospital every month and admitted him two months ago. There has been no proper response from the police after we lodged a complaint," one of Peter's family members said. He alleged that there was no proper security on the premises. IMH officials were not available for comment.

On April 2, according to police records, 26-year-old Sundarajan D of Porur scaled a wall at the IMH and tried to escape when he was knocked down by a lorry on Konnur High Road, a kilometre from the hospital. He had been admitted to the hospital on December 10, 2011, police said.

09/10/2012

NAWANSHAHR: In yet another incident that can put functioning of health department to shame, a woman had to deliver her baby on the roadside, outside the closed gate of Primary Health Centre of Sandhwan Pharala village in the district on Thursday morning.

This centre is supposed to provide 24x7 services to the rural people, but even at 7am on Thursday its doors were closed as none of the staff members were there. After Sunita of Munna village delivered a baby with the help of her husband and a passerby woman, a class IV employee of the centre came and opened the door. Her placenta was taken out in the dispensary by the staff. As both mother and baby were healthy, they were discharged in the evening.

On Friday, Nawanshahr civil surgeon Dr Ashwin Kumar entrusted an inquiry to Sujjon SMP Dr Rashpal Singh who visited the PHC in the day and recorded the statements of the staff.

According to eyewitnesses, the woman had labour pains and her husband rushed her to the centre, but the gate was closed. "Sunita was in labour and then a woman, who was passing by, came to her help," said an eyewitness. The staff came at around 8am and took over.

Kumar said it was a 24x7 centre, but due to shortage of staff and location there were problems in keeping it open for 24 hours. During the inquiry, staff members held that the centre was located at a distance from the village and women staff were not safe at night.

The staff held that there were two doctors posted there, but one was sent on deputation for attending emergency duty at Civil Hospital, Banga, which has quite a few doctors. One doctor would remain on call after the regular duty from 8am to 2pm. The centre has only two staff nurses.

Meanwhile, Human Empowerment League Punjab (HELP) has sent a complaint to the Punjab State Human Rights Commission. "It is not only failure in providing the minimal healthcare to the rural people, but also amounted to injuring the dignity of a woman, who had to deliver the baby in public with the help of a passerby that too just outside the gate of government-run health centre," HELP representation said.

09/10/2012

MUMBAI: While daily thundershowers may be a concern at the moment, the city is inching towards that time of the year when the gap between day and night temperatures widens; this causes a spike in health problems, warn city doctors. On Monday, the maximum temperature in Colaba was 32 degree Celsius and that in Santa Cruz, 33.4 degree Celsius. The minimum temperatures, on the other hand, were 24.5 degree Celsius and 24.2 degree Celsius, respectively; thus, marking a difference of 7.5 degrees for Colaba and 9.2 degrees for Santa Cruz.

Anything near or above the difference of 15 degrees is a problem, say doctors. So while the difference is not as high currently, "by mid-October, day temperatures soar and night dip. When this happens, it becomes difficult for the body to adapt to sudden weather changes," said Dr Hemant Thacker, who consults at Jaslok and Breach Candy hospitals.

Other than cases of viral fever, dengue and conjunctivitis, since the past few days, city doctors have also reported a rise in cases of asthma and dry cough. "Early morning smog coupled with humidity is a problem for chronic respiratory patients. Very soon, once the the rain disappears, there will be more cases of asthmatic wheezing, pollution-induced hoarseness and lower respiratory problems," said Dr Thacker. A few weeks into October, pollution and inversion would worsen respiratory problems, say doctors.

Those with underlying problems need to be more careful, said Dr Khusrav Bajan, intensivist with Hinduja Hospital. "Those with vulnerable lungs, smokers and pregnant women can be affected more because of sudden temperature discrepancies." Major health problems can be thwarted if a cough that lasts for over 10 days is not ignored and the throat is kept moist, Dr Bajan added.

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