VN Desai Hospital gears up for 3-month shutdown, staff fear permanent relocation

The 49-year-old civic hospital is suspending operations and inpatient care for 90 days post Diwali to carry out critical renovation and structural repair work

Mumbai: The signboard of the Dr VN Desai Hospital was dismantled on Friday, even as three containers were brought into the compound to accommodate eight outpatient department (OPD) services, as the facility gears up for a scheduled three-month shutdown for renovation.

The 49-year-old civic hospital is suspending operations and inpatient care for 90 days post Diwali to carry out critical renovation and structural repair work.

While patients and a majority of the hospital’s 400 employees will be moved to other civic hospitals, the proposed shutdown has triggered anxiety among staff, who fear they may never be brought back.

The 49-year-old civic hospital is suspending operations and inpatient care for 90 days post Diwali to carry out critical renovation and structural repair work. All ongoing hospital services, except OPD, are expected to be halted once the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC’s) Hospital Infrastructure Cell (HIC) formally gives the go-ahead, said Dr Mayura Nagle, the hospital’s medical superintendent.

“We are currently awaiting a formal intimation from the HIC about when the services can be shut down. They are currently making arrangements for OPD services, which witness a daily footfall of about 1,000 patients, to be operational in the hospital compound. While three containers have already arrived, another three will arrive soon to accommodate the eight OPD services, like gynaecology, paediatrics, ophthalmology, medicine, and surgery,” she said.

Nagle informed that around 100 of the hospital’s 400-odd employees may be retained to run the OPDs, while the rest will be temporarily deployed at nearby civic hospitals such as Bhabha Hospital in Bandra, Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle and the HBT Trauma Care Centre in Jogeshwari. Patients admitted to VN Desai Hospital will also be transferred by ambulance to nearby facilities or tertiary care hospitals, such as Nair Hospital, depending on their medical needs, she said.

Hospital services have continued alongside major civil renovation work over the past two years. However, a complete shutdown is now considered necessary to carry out the electrical overhaul, which could leave the premises without electricity for nearly three months.

However, the proposed relocation has unsettled employees, with unions fearing that a temporary arrangement could become permanent.

“The staffers are scared that this is just an excuse to shut down services. The problem is that most of the hospitals have many vacant posts, and the employees fear that they will be permanently shifted there,” said Pradeep Narkar, assistant general secretary from the Municipal Mazdoor Union.

“Each time a hospital shuts down for renovation, the employees fear that it will be handed over to private operators and they might not be able to return. Hospitals never announce a complete shutdown because they fear opposition from elected representatives and staff unions,” he added.

Citing Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali as an example, Narkar said its staff had also been shifted out for renovation but were never called back, with the hospital eventually being handed over to private operators under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

“Employees fear a similar fate and are on the edge. A similar move is currently being done at the Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi, where they are also asking staffers to relocate in the name of redevelopment,” he added.

Last month, when the hospital announced the shutdown on a chalkboard on the premises, local corporators, led by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Varun Sardesai, came together to protest. While the opposition had forced the hospital to delay the shutdown, the corporators have now decided to accept the temporary closure.

“We had even suggested that the second and third floors could remain functional while civil work continued on the ground and first floors, with the help of generators. However, the authorities said this would pose a risk to patient safety. Hence, our party leadership has decided not to oppose the shutdown in the interest of patient safety,” said Gitesh Raut, a Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator from Vakola.

“Besides, we have been assured that basic OPD services will continue on the premises. The hospital authorities have also decided to keep an ambulance on standby to transport patients to nearby hospitals in case of an emergency,” he added.

Raut said his party had also raised concerns about the possibility of the hospital being brought under the PPP model, but hospital officials had denied such a possibility.