Prescription chaos at Naidu hospital

Officials kept insisting that the prescription was not written as per government specification of classifying H1N1 symptoms.

Skirmishes and confusion over distribution of oseltamivir for swine flu patients are routine these days at Pune Municipal Corporation-run Naidu hospital. On Saturday morning, Sakshi Khandeshi was seen brandishing prescriptions of three doctors in a desperate bid to move the officials at the hospital to examine her 3-and-a-half-year-old son Mihir urgently. The confusion was over the prescription not being made in the prescribed format that grades the disease in accordance with severity and enables them to identify patients needing Tamilfu and those who do not need the anti-viral drug. The mother had to wait for a good while, and was finally given four Tamiflu tablets.

“My son had fever since February 23. He did not respond to two courses of antibiotics. Doctors tell me that tablets are available only at Naidu hospital. And here the doctor refused to even examine the child asking me to get a proper prescription based on government H1N1 classification of A, B and C. If they cannot give free medicine, at least allow us to buy them,” said the mother, breaking into tears. She had travelled from Ahmednagar and was allegedly subject to rude behaviour at Naidu hospital.

Dr Umesh Vaidya, head of neonatal intensive care, a unit of KEM hospital and paediatrician examining more than 10 such cases daily in his OPD said the child had respiratory disease and fever for five days. Mihir has not responded to cefuroxine and amoxicillin. We are aware that oseltamivir has to be immediately started as it was definitely a suspected case of swine flu. “The mother had prescriptions of Dr H Mujumdar and Dr S Tarade from Ahmednagar and I wrote another for the tablet to be procured from Naidu Hospital,” Vaidya said.

Officials insisted that the prescription was not written as per government specification of classifying H1N1 symptoms — A category for extremely critical, B for fever of more than 38 degrees and flu-like symptoms (that require Tamiflu) and C category that needs symptomatic treatment of seasonal influenza (that does not require Tamiflu). Most doctors are still unaware that the prescription has to be written in such a format, says Dr Vaidya.

Dr Benedict Francis, Medical Superintendent at Naidu hospital admitted that there were daily fights over dispensing drugs. WHO has underlined the danger of drug resistance if tablets are supplied in excess of what is required. Private hospitals are indiscriminately sending prescriptions. We have to exercise caution while dispensing the tablets, he said adding that panic among parents had led to this huge rush. Dr S T Pardeshi, acting medical chief of PMC said that a meeting had been held with hospitals on February 26 and the categorization of H1N1 symptoms and the prescription format had been given to the Indian Medical Association. However, when contacted, Dr Arun Halbe, President of the IMA, Pune chapter said no written notification had been received from PMC. Authorities need to realize that there are increasing cases of swine flu and clearly the system is not prepared to tackle them. In 2009, when the swine flu pandemic had broken out we opened a helpline to clear doubts and help patients. We will now start a helpline, Halbe said.

TAKING STOCK

Highly placed officials said PMC has a stock of 6,000 tablets at Naidu hospital while government hospitals and sub-centres have been given fresh stock. Despite health minister Dr Deepak Sawant assuring in Pune that there is adequate stock of oseltamivir, there seems to be a clear shortage of drugs. Dr H H Chavan, deputy director of health, Pune said some medical stores of private hospitals have been approved by FDA to sell drugs that cost Rs 500 for a strip of ten.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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