Mumbai To Get 1,100 New Hospital Beds As Civic Facilities Near Completion; Shiv Sena (UBT) Opposes Privatisation Move
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai: Around 1,100 new hospital beds will soon be available to Mumbai residents as construction of Siddharth Municipal General Hospital in Goregaon, Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal General Hospital (Shatabdi Hospital) in Kandivali West, and Shri Harilal Bhagwati Municipal General Hospital in Borivali West is more than 85% complete. Ahead of their operation, Shiv Sena (UBT) has opposed any move to hand over the hospitals to private operators, insisting that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) should run them to ensure affordable healthcare for the common public.
Kishori Pednekar Raises Objection Over Privatisation
Visit rouesnews.click for more information.
Leader of the Opposition in the BMC, Kishori Pednekar, made the demand after inspecting the three hospitals along with party leaders. She alleged that the BJP-led state government and the civic administration were attempting to privatise public healthcare by entrusting the management of the hospitals to private agencies.
Pednekar said the three hospitals, built at a cost of around Rs 500 crore, are in the final stages of completion and only the handover process remains. Once operational, they are expected to ease the patient burden on Mumbai's major civic hospitals, including KEM, Nair and Sion, while strengthening healthcare services in the western suburbs.
Facilities Should Remain Under BMC, Says Sena (UBT)
"The hospitals have been built using taxpayers' money and should remain under the BMC. They must serve the common people and not private interests," she said, adding that Shiv Sena (UBT) would strongly oppose any attempt to privatise the facilities.
The hospitals will together provide about 1,120 beds—306 at Siddharth Hospital, 324 at Shatabdi Hospital and 490 at Harilal Bhagwati Hospital. Once they become operational, it is expected to ease patients load from civic run major hospitals.
KEM Hospital Canteen Licence Suspended After FDA Finds Hygiene Violations, Orders ClosurePednekar Flags Medicine Supply, MRI Issues
During the inspection, Pednekar highlighted delays in medicine procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal and frequent breakdowns of the 13-year-old MRI machine operating under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model at Shatabdi Hospital. She also pointed to a shortage of nursing staff.
At Harilal Bhagwati Hospital, she said the increase in bed capacity must be matched with adequate recruitment of doctors, nurses, technicians, paramedical staff and sanitation workers. She urged the BMC to expedite pending approvals for manpower recruitment.
Pednekar maintained that the BMC has decades of experience in successfully operating hospitals such as KEM, Nair, Sion, Cooper and Rajawadi and is fully capable of managing the three new hospitals. She urged the civic administration to commission the facilities at the earliest under BMC management so that Mumbai residents can benefit from quality and affordable healthcare.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/