24-year-old doctor at Mumbai hospital dies of TB
MUMBAI: A 24-year-old Sion hospital doctor lost her six-month-old battle to multi-drug resistant tuberculosis of the brain on Sunday, the eve of Doctor's Day (July 1).
Akola resident Dr Samidha Khandare (24) was diagnosed with the disease in January, just a month before the completion of her internship at Sion Hospital. She had received her MBBS degree in the ICU of Sion Hospital in February this year.
Pointing out that Samidha was among the 20 doctors from Sion, KEM and Nair hospitals to have contracted tuberculosis since late last year, members of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said the situation was no better at other civic hospitals like KEM and BYL Nair.
On Sunday, doctors at PD Hinduja Hospital, where she was admitted, informed her family that her brain function had almost come to a naught. Her elder brother Shekhar, a doctor at KEM Hospital, said her kidneys were also badly affected. The intern had been breathing with the help of a ventilator for the last month.
Dr Shekhar blamed poor living conditions in the doctors' residential quarters for the spread of the infection. In fact, when Samidha was initially admitted to the ICU of Sion Hospital, she had caught another infection. Following this, her family had shifted her to Hinduja Hospital.
"We can only hope that my sister's death wakes up the administration and efforts are made on a war footing to improve the living conditions of interns and resident doctors," said Dr Shekhar.
The news of Samidha's death came as a heartbreaker for her friends and colleagues, who had been collecting money to sustain her treatment at Hinduja. The doctors had collected over Rs5 lakh and hoped that she would recover.
"The BMC provides doctors a meagre Rs 10 for breakfast. This is not enough to buy a nutritious meal," said Dr Santosh Wakchaure, MARD president, adding that erratic and long-working hours only add to their health woes. "We have demanded a health policy for doctors so that families do not have to worry about treatment. Samidha's family spent all their savings on her treatment. The civic body has to be responsible for our health as we, the doctors, are the main pillars of healthcare."
A civic official told TOI that steps have been initiated to curb the spread of TB among doctors. "At Sion Hospital, efforts are being taken to decongest the residential quarters. The BMC is also looking into the nutritional aspect," the official said.
Over 3000 people have contracted the multi-drug resistant tuberculosis since 2010.
Tuberculosis: Facts and figures
*At least 20 doctors contracted TB at KEM, Sion and Nair Hospital since November last year, said members of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors
*Akola resident Dr Samidha Khandare (24) was diagnosed with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis of the brain in January, just a month before the completion of her internship at Sion Hospital
* More than 42 staffers of the Group of Tuberculosis (GTB) Hospital in Sewri are said to have succumbed to the disease since 2005
*Between 2010 and 2013, over 3,003 patients were diagnosed with multi drug-resistant tuberculosis in Mumbai
Source:
The Times of India
