THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To tide over the crisis created by the Covid-19 outbreak and severe cyclonic storm Nisarga, Maharashtra has once again knocked at the doors of Kerala for help. This time it is a consortium of various Malayali associations in Maharashtra that have approached the state seeking medical aid by dispatching a team of doctors and nurses. Raising a similar demand, Dr TP Lahane, nodal officer, Covid-19, Maharashtra, had approached Kerala on May 23.
“The Covid-19 situation in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, is beyond imagination. The patient inflow to hospitals is increasing daily. But they are not getting quality care due to lack of medical professionals. Considering the seriousness of the situation and to save the lives of patients, including Malayalis, Kerala government should step in,” said Mathew Thomas, general secretary, Keraleeya Kendra Sanghatana Bombay, a consortium of around 70 Malayali associations operating in Maharashtra.
He said the state government should take the lead role in dispatching a group of 100 doctors and 150 nurses on a war-footing. Demanding the same, the consortium submitted a representation to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday.“There are scores of Malayalis here who want to return to their native land. They also feel a mass exodus will do them more harm than good. But they fear that staying here might jeopardise their lives due to the absence of medical care. The Kerala government should do something,” he said.
‘Hospitals short on staff’
The intervention of Kerala in helping Maharashtra to tide over the crisis has already begun as a team of doctors led by Dr SS Santhoshkumar, vice president, Doctors Without Borders, South Asia, and also deputy superintendent, Emergency Department of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, is there in Mumbai. The team was instrumental in setting up a 40-bed ICU for Covid patients at Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai.
“The backbone of a majority of hospitals in Maharashtra is the medical professionals from Kerala. But due to varying reasons since the outbreak, many of them resigned and have gone back to their native places. Thus the hospitals here are facing problems. The severe cyclonic storm will further worsen the situation here,” said Santhoshkumar. According to him, it was against this backdrop that an initiative was formed in Kerala to mobilise a team of doctors, specialists and nurses to be sent to Maharashtra.