The
Asian Age: Mumbai: Sunday, 29 November 2015.
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.
According to
the rules laid down by National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), the state
licensing authority is supposed to approve the blood storage unit after
inspecting if the conditions and facilities are satisfactory. However, so far
the FDA has not even inspected the center, which is the first step in granting
permission to any blood storage center.
When
contacted, Vinita Thomas, assistant commissioner (drugs), said, "We have
not received any such request from the hospital that's why inspection has not
been carried out yet."
Moreover, as
per NACO, before applying for the approval, the storage centre will have to
maintain some requirements such as availability of electricity 24X7, dedicated
doctors and technicians who would assist in the functioning of the cold storage
facility. The center would also need to have equipments like storage
refrigerator and reagent refrigerator but sadly, the center does not have these
basic facilities to function as a cold storage for blood.
When The
Asian Age visited the centre on the first floor of pathology laboratory, the
150 sq ft room was locked. After investigation, it was found out that the room
does not have 24X7 electricity connection and State Blood Transfusion Council
(SBTC). Also, the BMC has not provided either doctors or technicians for the facility
even though it is compulsory under NACO rules.
Since June
30, 2014, equipments like computers, incubator, centrifuge, crossmatch reader,
domestic refrigerator, furniture and icebox are lying unused in the room. But
the “room” lacks a blood storage refrigerator and reagent refrigerator that are
compulsory under NACO for such a facility.
"As per
SBTC, BMC is not responsible for appointing any technicians, doctors or staff
nurse. SBTC is supposed to provide it," said Dr Krishnakumar Pimple,
medical superintendent of Sir JJ Mahanagar Raktapedhi.
For the past
two years, the hospital has been training technicians on how to operate blood
storage centres and other basic procedures like storage, grouping, cross-
matching and release of blood. But Maharashtra's rules state that only three
days' training is sufficient to work in blood storage centre.
Despite
repeated attempts, Dr Girish Chaudhari, director of SBTC refused to comment on
the matter.
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