With the 10-bed ICCU at Cooper Hospital, Juhu, being one of only two ICCUs in the western suburbs -- the other is at Bhabha Hospital in Bandra -- patients are referred there from Virar to Andheri. With the Cooper ICCU refusing to admit patients since the last four months, patients are being re-routed to Bhabha, Nair and KEM hospitals. The rest have to rely on private hospitals.

Medical Superintendent, Cooper Hospital, Dr Mahendra Wadiawala, says there is a severe dearth of resident doctors and not a single one has been posted in the ICCU this year. The honorary cardiologist with the ICCU, Dr Vivek Mehan, he confirmed, had proceeded on leave a month ago as it was extremely difficult to run the unit under the circumstances.

He says the municipal authoritieshave been apprised of the crisis but to no avail. In fact, doctors have to be summoned from other departments to treat patients in the ICCU. However, the unit is completely bereft of patients in need of cardiac care at present while four cases of poisoning are under treatment there. Doctors at the hospital say the ICCU has not admitted a single heart patient since August. They add that transferring patients in critical condition is not advisable as it takes more than an hour to reach the nearest public hospital in the western suburbs.

Pointing out that the cardiologist can train other resident doctors to manage the patients in the ICCU, Dr Wadiawala says he has taken up the matter of Dr Mehan proceeding on leave with the authorities.

However, Dr Mehan told Express Newsline that it is not possible to work without resident doctors. He refused to offer any further comments.