The rise in the number of H1N1 cases in the city has highlighted the inefficacy of a vital health monitoring and data collection mechanism of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which seems to be lacking teeth. Civic officials admitted that only 12% of the nearly 4,000 health facilities are sending reports to the BBMP’s Public Health Information and Epidemiological Cell (PHIEC). These include not only government but also private hospitals, laboratories and clinics.
As per the protocol instituted by PHIEC, all healthcare facilities have to send weekly reports every Monday or latest by Tuesday. Those facilities that do not send data get a reminder SMS. Although this process has been in place since 2016, a majority of the facilities do not send their reports, said sources.
A doctor at a private hospital said that their staff had not fed in data as they were not given adequate training to enter the details.
T. Venkatesh, programme office, PHIEC, said that currently the cell is focused on collecting details of communicable diseases, including H1N1, dengue, chikungunya, malaria, enteric fever. “The purpose of this cell was to identify pockets where the cases were reported and take up precautionary measures to limit its spread. Once cases like this are reported, our officials go to the homes of the patient, screen other family members and also conduct awareness programmes on the precautionary measures for residents,” he said.
BBMP's Special Commissioner D. Randeep said that this issue was raised in a meeting chaired by the mayor on Thursday. “The civic body will ensure that health facilities are made accountable and submit the details regularly. We are mulling over the idea of making reporting mandatory when these health facilities come to us to renew permission for their facilities,” he said. “We will also conduct more training sessions for the staff of these health facilities.”
However, he argued that the recent reports of H1N1 cases were the result of better reporting mechanisms and not a spurt in the incidence of cases.
