MUMBAI, June 20: Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital has decided to treat a staff doctor suffering from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) at the hospital. The decision has driven a wedge in the hospital staff. While one section calls it an unnecessary risk, the other says that it's the least they could do for an ailing colleague.

While it's still not clear how Dr Rajesh Saxena (name changed to protect identity) contracted the virus, his colleagues suspect the obvious. They say he may have contracted it from one of the many patients he attended to during his 10 years' service with the hospital.

Although the disease has fully manifested itself only recently, it is difficult to ascertain as to how many patients may have come in contact with the doctor on the operating table throughout its dormant stages. The chances of him having transmitted the virus to one of his patients are slim, since the virus can be carried only through blood-to-blood contact, experts said.

A surgeon with the Head and Neck Department, Saxena is now languishing in near-isolation in the septic room of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) since Wednesday.

The sprawling hospital, meanwhile is abuzz with the news of his illness and the hospital's decision to treat him. Doctors requesting anonymity pointed out that even if bare traces of HIV virus are diagnosed in a patient, he/she is immediately transferred to the designated government hospitals. ``If he (Dr Saxena) can be treated here, then why are others shunted out?'' they questioned.

Not many doctors, paramedics and conservancy staffers are willing to go anywhere near the ward. A former colleague of Dr Saxena said, ``Everyone feels sorry for Dr Saxena who was once bubbling with life and activity.

However, the hospital's foolhardy decision to look after him rather than shift him to a specialised hospital is indeed strange!'' When this reporter clandestinely visited the ailing doctor on Thursday, the ICU bore a desolate look. Dr Saxena looked quite helpless placed on a ventilator, various other contraptions attached to his body. An uneasy calm permeated the room.

Sources said his condition has been deteriorating sharply. His family and friends visiting him are asked to wear special gloves, mask, gowns, and such paraphernalia, sources revealed.

However, staffers supporting hospital's decision to treat Saxena say their fears are ``misplaced.'' An eminent medico-legal consultant said: ``Any hospital is competent to treat AIDS cases. Even the Supreme Court has ruled that isolation or quarantining of an AIDS patient is incorrect. "Although AIDS is passed mainly through blood-to-blood contact, treating Saxena is still a risky move unless utmost care is taken in disposal of syringes and such equipment used in his treatment.''

Director Dr Katie Dinshaw when contacted said the matter is ``confidential'' and preferred not to elaborate whether it was administrative decision. ``I was away in China when it happened. All the same, being the director the buck stops with me. We are dealing with a very sick, helpless colleague,''the director said.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.