Heritage walks to explore rich history of JJ Hospital

The hospital started with a bed strength of 300 with departments of general medicine and general surgery and Materia medica- the present-day pharmacology.

Mumbai: Sir JJ Hospital, the city’s oldest public hospital, is all set to organise a heritage walk for Mumbaiites to showcase its rich history spanning 177 years. The hospital dean, who has been closely working with representatives of ‘Friends of Grant Medical College (GMC) and Sir JJ Group of hospital trust to build a museum on the premises, said the heritage walk will be organised by their medical students and teachers.

Heritage walks to explore rich history of JJ Hospital

Dr Pallavi Saple, dean, who completed graduation and post-graduation from GMC, said, “There were many things about this institution that even I was not aware of. Therefore, we thought of organising a heritage walk to get our medical students, doctors and people at large to be aware of the rich contribution this institution has made towards Indian medicine.”

She said the heritage walk team will comprise 25 members and will be trained by the 1957 batch of doctors, especially Dr Sunil Pandya, who has written books on the heritage of Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital and its contribution to Indian medicine. Pandya, a 1957-batch graduate, has authored Medical Education in Western India, which is based on the history of GMC and Sir JJ Hospital.

The hospital started with a bed strength of 300 with departments of general medicine and general surgery and Materia medica- the present-day pharmacology. The college was started with three teachers with anatomy, physiology, pathology and Materia medica departments. Among its history, is the work of acclaimed bacteriologist Waldemar Haffkine, who conducted research and discovered the vaccine against bubonic plague at JJ Hospital in 1893.

“We have asked medical students from each batch to volunteer. We are looking at five students from each batch and senior faculty members who will be trained by Dr Pandya, an encyclopaedia of the history of GMC and Sir JJ Hospital,” said Dr Saple.

As a step forward in generating interest among medical students in the history of the institution, a special lecture by Dr Pandya on the heritage of GMC and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals was organised on August 25 at the anatomy hall.

“Heritage walks are very popular in Mumbai. While curating the walks, we also plan to customise them like a hospital walk, past students walk, or college walk. The general public may be interested in the hospital walk. Medical students may be interested to know more about the college history and past students,” said Dr Saple. She said once the team is finalised, they plan to start training and chalk out the walk plan soon.

Dr Asha Chakraborty, also a GMC graduate from batch 1957 and a member of the trust who is spearheading its effort to build a museum said efforts like this will help preserve the history for future generations.

“Our trust has been wanting to preserve the history of GMC and Sir JJ Hospital- the epicentre of many medical milestones- for years now. Organising heritage walks is another way of preserving and passing the knowledge to the next generation,” said Chakraborty.