Thane: KDMC health services fail to provide emergency care

KALYAN: Despite spending Rs 75 lakh last year to establish a 10-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and pledging a 100-bed multi-speciality hospital at Yogi Dham, the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has yet to operationalise either facility. This has come under intense scrutiny following the deaths of four-year-old Pranavi Bhoir and her 24-year-old aunt, Shruti Thakur, from snake bites in Dombivli last week.

The victims were bitten by a highly venomous common krait while asleep at their home. They were initially taken to KDMC's Shastri Nagar Hospital, where their family alleged that essential facilities such as anti-venom doses, ventilators, and intensive care support were unavailable. The patients were subsequently transferred to Thane civil hospital, but both succumbed during treatment.

Local activists stated that the tragedy once again highlighted the fragile state of KDMC's public health system. KDMC operates two major hospitals: Rukminibai hospital in Kalyan with a 120-bed facility and Shastri Nagar Hospital with a 100-bed facility in Dombivli. However, these centres only provide treatment for minor injuries, accidents, and fever, while patients with serious injuries, critical illnesses, or emergency trauma cases are routinely referred to government hospitals in Thane or Mumbai for advanced care.

Rukminibai hospital's ICU, equipped with ventilators and life-support systems costing several lakhs of rupees, has remained closed despite being ready for over a year. A private operator who briefly managed the facility withdrew within two weeks, and since then, no new bidder has come forward despite multiple tender reissues. MNS neta Manoj Gharat stated, "If KDMC hospitals can't save lives in emergencies, what's the purpose of keeping them open?"

Health officials admitted that low salaries compared to private hospitals discourage qualified doctors from joining KDMC facilities. The proposed 100-bed multi-speciality hospital at Yogi Dham, announced over a year ago, remains stalled as no experienced consultant has come forward for cost estimation and planning despite repeated tenders, health officials said.