Doctors are forced to refer to the internet or media reports.
Despite the government and BMC claiming that everything is in place to tackle Influenza H1N1, general practitioners or family physicians are still to get distinct treatment protocols from them.
As a result several doctors are forced to either refer to the information provided on the internet or media reports while handling patients.
Goregaon resident Asha Singhal’s physician told her to go to any public hospital where she could get tested for swine flu. Though she had no symptoms, her doctor suggested that she get tested. “Our physician told us clearly that he did not know much about the disease,” she said. “He told us that we should go for precautionary treatment.”
This is surprising considering that a 14-year-old girl died in Pune because of swine flu. On Tuesday Dr Jayaraj Thanekar, BMC’s executive health officer, said they would meet general practitioners on Friday.
Dr Suhas Pingle, the secretary of Indian Medical Association, said he did not know of any meeting with BMC. The associations, however, have taken it upon themselves to educate and update their treating protocols. “We are holding meetings every Tuesday and Thursday to discuss swine flu,” he said. “We also organised a lecture by a BMC doctor who informed us about the dos and don’ts.”
Dr Pravesh Navalkar from Borivili said doctors needed to be informed about the exact details of the disease. “It is difficult to differentiate between seasonal flu and swine flu,” he said. “Personally, I am referring to the WHO website. But it is mostly general information. BMC should provide us with more specific information.” Navalkar said BMC could use their network of health workers to disseminate information.
Dr Pradeep Awate, the in charge of state’s swine flu cell, said the symptoms of seasonal and swine flu were almost same. “Doctors have to look into the travel history of patients and decide accordingly,” he said.
Dr Vijay Punjabi, the president of general practioners association, said doctors ought to be informed about emergency contacts. “In case of an emergency, many doctors do not know where to refer patients of Influenza H1N1. The BMC helpline is always busy,” he said.
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