Image Credit: Mumbai Mirror – “DOC WHO FORCED BMC TO CHANGE UNFAIR TB LEAVE POLICY DIES”- July 22,2015
49 year-old Dr. Suresh Vaze who contracted TB from a patient in 2011, died after a brave and prolonged struggle on Monday at Sewri Hospital-Mumbai. Dr. Vaze who worked and was eventually admitted at Sewri Hospital, wasn’t merely battling a deadly strain of TB but was also being denied the required recovery time by the authorities. To add salt to injury, he passed on the deadly infection to his wife and daughter, who were forced to leave him in May and are currently under treatment and slowly recovering.
When the Mumbai Mirror followed his situation via 3 articles starting back in October, his name wasn’t disclosed. This article on the Mumbai Mirror is the first time his name and details of his struggle are clearly being revealed, forcing the BMC to grant paid leave as long as required.
Dr. Suresh Vaze contracted a drug resistant strain of TB from a patient he treated. He was denied leave for the much required treatment by BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) leading to his admission at the very hospital he served at. He was unaccompanied at the time of death. His wife and one of two daughters, who contracted XDR TB from Dr Vaze, were forced to leave him in May. A physician who attended to him said, Dr Vaze lost motor function a fortnight ago. He suffered organ failure and both his lungs had collapsed. “He was like a dead body. He’d stopped eating and stopped reacting to people,” said a doctor, requesting that his name be withheld. “It was painful to see a colleague with whom I worked for 15 years waste away. And what made it worse was that he died a lonely death.”
Dr Vaze who was infected in 2011, continued to work at the hospital while receiving the stipulated six month course of treatment. As per BMC policy an employee who is undergoing treatment for TB must return to work if his or her sputum tests negative for the disease – which is redundant because the subject’s test would return negative in the midst of treatment.
He continued to treat over 30 multi drug resistant TB cases a day and in 2012 was diagnosed as infected by that strain – rendering him immune to second line drugs. He began treatment for MDR-TB and, in keeping with BMC’s policy, was told to return to work when his sputum tested negative. He was infected with XDR-TB in April last year, a mycobacterial infection that requires at least two years of sustained treatment. The BMC would only grant him six months of leave, from which he had used up half.
The city corporation now grants medical staff full paid leave for treatment, irrespective of the duration. Since then, Dr Vaze continued to be treated at Sewri TB Hospital – he lived in the staff quarters within the precincts of the facility. His wife and 18-year-old daughter left home after they contracted the disease from him. “He locked himself up after they went away. He was depressed. He lost over 20 kilos in the last two months,” a doctor said. “When he stopped coming to the hospital for treatment, I sent over a DOT [Directly Observed Treatment] provider to visit his home but he refused to take his medication,” said Dr Rajendra Nanaware, medical superintendent at the hospital. “We informed his wife and she visited him but couldn’t stay because she too is battling the disease.” Dr. Vaze was declared dead at 6.20 pm on Monday. His wife and daughters were present at the funeral.
While Dr. Suresh Vaze may have passed away, his struggle and sacrifice today has ensured that medical staff and professionals under the BMC’s jurisdiction who contract TB from patients will now be eligible for fully paid leave up to any duration required.Sir, we salute your sacrifice and that of your family’s!
A great word of appreciation also to the Mumbai Mirror for following up on this story that lead to a positive reaction by the BMC.
This post reflects opinions and facts as shared on the original story- ” DOC WHO FORCED BMC TO CHANGE UNFAIR TB LEAVE POLICY DIES” posted on the Mumbai Mirror website 22.7.2015
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