Suburbs get a leg-up in healthcare

MUMBAI: Four years after the BMC decided to upgrade its peripheral hospitals, the much-awaited makeover has begun to take shape. The civic-run Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon on Wednesday inaugurated a spanking new ICU and is soon to get a post-mortem centre. This means suburban Mumbaikars no longer need to travel all the way to the island city for treatment.
Critical care patients looking for a bed can depend on the 12-bed ICU at Siddharth hospital, which has more improvements on the cards.With the BMC earmarking Rs 3.5 crore for its refurbishment and modernisation, the hospital will get a casualty ward, an orthopedic OPD (outpatients department) and orthopedic operation theatre in the next phase.
"Residents of the western suburbs have to rush to either Bhagwati Hospital or Cooper hospital for a post-mortem as no hospital between Vile Parle and Borivli is equipped for it,'' said Shubhada Gudekar who heads the BMC's health committee.
It's not Siddharth alone. "Plans are also on to convert maternity homes into general hospitals. The Kasturba Maternity Home in Borivli is one such hospital being converted into a 150-bed general hospital,'' said Dr Seema Malik, chief superintendent of BMC's peripheral hospitals. The BMC is also pumping in Rs 5 crore to develop a trauma-care centre at Azgaonkar plot in Jogeshwari.
The civic body realised the dire need for upgradation of the peripheral hospitals after the 26/7 floods. "Soon after the deluge and train blasts, we realised the need to refurbish and modernise these hospitals since it was difficult for patients to travel all the way to the town for minor ailments,'' said Dr Malik.
The change is evident. Three peripheral hospitals now boast of CT scanners, others of colour dopplers and 24x7 sonography services.
TOI had earlier reported how Rajawadi in Ghatkopar, Bhagwati in Borivli and V N Desai in Santacruz received long-awaited CT scanners. Shortly before that Bhabha Hospital at Kurla inaugurated its new integrated OPD block.
The BMC is also recruiting staffers to keep pace with the technology. Siddharth for instance, has got 108 new staffers, while 50 staffers have been recruited to run the newly-acquired CT scan machines.
Upgradation plans
1. Bhagwati Hospital (Borivali): Phase-wise redevelopment of the hospital. The 373-bedded hospital will be expanded into a 750-bed healthcare centre.
2. S K Patil Hospital (Malad): The 50-bed hospital will be converted into a 300-bed multi-specialty hospital equipped with an ICU, operation theatre and casualty ward.
3. Shatabdi Hospital (Kandivli): Work has already begun to convert this 120-bed hospital into a 300-bed multi-specialty hospital. A new block with 250 beds offering super-speciality services such as neurology and cardiology. 4. Cooper Hospital (Vile Parle): Tenders are expected to be opened in two weeks for the refurbishment of this hospital which caters to a large number of trauma cases.
5. V N Desai Hospital (Santacruz): A new trauma ward is underway. Plans are also afoot to refurbish the OPD and turn it into an integrated block.
6. Govandi general Hospital: Tenders will be opened in two months to turn this 220-bedded hospital into a 520-bedded one. A token budget of Rs 5 crore has been allocated for this project.
7. MK Agarwal Hospital (Mulund): This 218-bedded hospital will now be expanded to a 520-bedded hospital.
8. Rajawadi Hospital (Ghatkopar): A budget of Rs 4.5-5 crore has been allocated for the refurbishment of this hospital. Rajawadi is the main healthcare centre in the Eastern suburbs and caters to a large number of trauma cases.