Sena’s ’07 health promises for elderly yet to come true

Suryakant Shinde (60) had to travel to Malad for a month to get his fractured leg examined after he went through a harrowing experience at Bhagwati Hospital. “We had to go through endless procedures of filling forms and wait for hours to pay. The separate queues for the elderly was my only respite,” said Shinde. While last time’s promises remains far from fulfilled,Sena’s 2012 manifesto mentions a 24×7 helpline to cater to health-related queries of senior citizens.

“There will be a one-stop helpline number for senior citizens. While the services provided by the helpline still needs to be discussed,it will definitely make medical treatment simpler for the elders,” said Rajul Patel,chairman of the BMC health committee. Patel admitted that they had not managed to live up to their promise of setting up geriatric wards in the hospitals.

Around 30-35 per cent of the total OPD patient population at the tertiary BMC hospitals consists elderly citizens. Despite such a large chunk,lack of trained staff coupled with apparent lack of interest from hospital authorities has resulted in poor geriatric care in the city.