Sion hospital wing in Mumbai’s Dharavi to get 100 beds to fight coronavirus

Taking the rising number of cases in Dharavi into account, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to start 100 isolation beds at the Urban Health Training

Taking the rising number of cases in Dharavi into account, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to start 100 isolation beds at the Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC), a branch of the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital or Sion hospital, to cater to Covid-19 patients in the area. Meanwhile, a section of Sion hospital will be converted into an exclusive Covid-19 treatment centre with 400 beds.

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Dharavi — one of the biggest slums in the city with a population of 8.5 lakh — has already recorded over 800 positive cases of the coronavirus. Being the nearest municipal hospital to Dharavi, Sion hospital receives a large number of patients from the area. Many Covid-19 patients are brought to the hospital at a later stage, when they are in critical condition. The new isolation facility in the area could help save more patients.

On Saturday, newly appointed BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal paid a visit to the slum along with additional commissioner (health) Suresh Kakani and ward officer Kiran Dighavkar, after which a decision on the upgrade was taken. “UHTC doesn’t have oxygen lines and we are trying to get beds with oxygen supply facility. We have started talks with our team of technicians. If it is not possible, we will start the isolation facility without oxygen,” said Dr Pramod Ingale, former dean of the hospital.

Since March 25, Sion hospital has catered to 579 Covid positive patients and 212 patients suffering from severe acute respiratory infection. At present, the hospital has 221 non-Covid patients in the general medicine ward.

“The hospital will get more isolation beds, to increase its capacity from the existing 250. Most of these beds will have oxygen lines for Covid patients,” said Dr Ingale. “The hospital already has more than 250 Covid patients, but we have decided to expand its capacity further, considering the growing demands of treatment. It will be done partially as the hospital also needs to attend to non-Covid patients,” said Kakani.

Recently, the hospital has come under several criticism after videos showing bodies of Covid patients in the same ward as patients under treatment went viral.