Breach Candy hosp to be pulled down; Jaslok to add more space

Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai will begin operations from a new 11-storey building next year, while Jaslok Hospital is undergoing expansion plans. The additional space will allow for the setup of state-of-the-art treatment facilities in order to compete with other private healthcare facilities in south Mumbai. The estimated cost of the new Breach Candy building is ₹300 crores and will feature an OPD, operation theatre, ICU, and patient wards. Jaslok Hospital is also revamping its facilities to improve patient movement and meet growing healthcare demands. Both hospitals will have separate parking facilities.

Breach Candy Hospital will operate from an 11-storey building, Jaslok adding annexes

Breach Candy Hospital will operate from an 11-storey building, Jaslok adding annexes. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo))

Mumbai: Two of the city’s most sought-out hospitals are poised for a turn-around, by creating additional space to match the steady rise in the number of patients. The Breach Candy Hospital, a preferred choice of businessmen, film stars and politicians, will begin its operations from a new 11-storey building on its premises next year, while a kilometre away, Jaslok Hospital has embarked on similar expansion plans.

The diversification of the 161-bed 77-year-old boutique hospital by the sea, known for personalised care, started in 2019. 84 beds will be added in the new building, while the extra space will help the hospital set up state-of-the-art treatment facilities and emerge as one of the competitive private healthcare facilities in south Mumbai.

In recent times, facilities such as Sir H N Reliance Hospital, Saifee Hospital and Masina Hospital have given it tough competition. N Santhanam, chief executive officer, Breach Candy Hospital, said the new building, which is part of their phase I of the modernisation plan, will start operations in the next calendar quarter, as it is “awaiting the civic body’s OC”.

The estimated cost of the new building – with a 100,000 square feet area -- is ₹300 crores.

It will have an OPD, operation theatre, ICU, nephrology centre, chemotherapy ward, endoscopy facility and patient wards. While Edifice Consultants have designed the new building, its interiors have been done by Narsi Group, which was also commissioned to do the interiors of the new parliament house.

In its second phase, the existing building will be torn down to make way for a new building.

“The hospital is being redeveloped in a phased manner; in the next seven to eight years, it will be a completely new set-up, ready to cater to the future healthcare demands,” he said.

A crucial learning for the administration during the Covid-19 pandemic was the absence of isolation wards in the existing building. This has been corrected. “We have now incorporated air change, air containment and isolation wards to deal with Covid-19 pandemic better. We will also start robotic facilities,” said Santhanam.

The 50-year-old Jaslok Hospital, at Peddar Road, is also undergoing a major revamp to meet the growing demand of healthcare. Jitendra Haryan, the hospital’s CEO, said the process started in 2016 in a phased manner and will be complete in five to six years.

“We are not putting additional beds but are looking to achieve a better bed-to-space ratio. This translates into cafeterias and better space for patient movement,” he said.

The 350-bed hospital inaugurated a seven-floor annexe in September last year, connected to the main building via a vestibule on the third floor. It has added 85 beds, including 36 ICU and 15 dialysis beds, and a nuclear medicine department.

“We are fortunate to have had unutilised FSI to carry out the expansion plan. Next year, we plan to begin work on another annexe, in front of the hospital, which will have five floors. The 30,000 sq ft area will include OPDs, operation theatres, training centre for doctors and a cafeteria. Planning is on in a manner that patient service is not affected,” said Haryan.

The hospital has already added two big lifts for patient-movement and a two-meter wide staircase connected to each floor of the main building in the rear end, to make for a fire evacuation plan and patient safety.

“In the last five years, we have rejigged our floor placements – for example, we have brought the ICU down from the 19th floor to fourth and fifth floors, and shuffled the wards and ICUs,” he added.

Both hospitals will have separate parking facilities. “It was a major lacuna which needed to be addressed. We will eventually have space to accommodate at least 52 vehicles,” said Haryan.

Santhanam said, at the Breach Candy Hospital, plans are afoot to create a new parking tower.