Soon, Tata Memorial Hospital’s dharamshala to house patients

Tata Memorial Hospital on Tuesday announced that its dharmashala, a hostel for outstation patients, would be ready within a month

Tata Memorial Hospital on Tuesday announced that its dharmashala, a hostel for outstation patients, would be ready within a month. The facility with 100 1BHK flats – each of 250 square feet – has been built by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).

Mumbai, India - March 28, 2023: Tata Hospital starts 100-bedded well-furnished Dharmashala for needy cancer patients and their relatives to provide a comfortable stay, at MHADA Building, Bhoiwada, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

Every flat is equipped with beds, bed linen, fridge, geyser and television. While it will be free of charge for the patients from the marginalised sections and below the poverty line, those from middle class and lower middle-class families will have to pay a nominal fee.

Dr Shailesh Shrikhande, gastrointestinal cancer surgeon and deputy director of the hospital, said their social work department daily receives 50 enquiries for accommodation of which only 50% can be fulfilled.

“In my 20 years at the hospital, I have realised that it is much more than taking care of cancer patients and their families. Dharmashala is our attempt to help our patients who otherwise stay on the footpaths or under the bridges till their treatment is complete,” Shrikhande, who spearheaded the hostel project, said.

Last year, Tata hospital registered 82,000 cancer cases while the year-by-year rise in cases stands somewhere between 8% and 10%.

The then housing minister Jitendra Awhad had in 2021 said that the MHADA would construct 100 flats for the patients’ accommodation. The hostel, which is a 10-minute walk from the hospital, also has a floor dedicated to doctors and nurses who would be stationed there to handle emergencies.

Tata hospital also announced that a 300-flat hostel for patients on the Haffkine Institute premises would be completed by July.

“There are a few facilities around the hospital which provide accommodation but they are not enough considering the load of patients we receive every day. These 100 flats will be a boon for many, and the facility at Haffkine will house patients by June-July this year,” Dr Rajendra Badwe, director of Tata hospital, said.