Mumbai: Elevator woes cause chaos at BMC-run Bhabha hospital

A crowd wait for the lift at the hospital

Malfunctioning elevators at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run KB Bhabha Hospital in Bandra led to crowding in the corridors and long waiting times for patients to access health facilities on Thursday. A few days ago, Rohit Biradar's 21-year-old brother fractured his leg. The elevators were working fine during his admission. "The malfunction started in the past two days," Rohit said.

The hospital has a total of four elevators. One of them was shut for use until Friday, and the other had a problem with its door, which wouldn't shut properly. "It would have been a problem if this issue occurred during admission. In the past two days, I didn't use the elevators as much, but the one or two times that I did, it took up to 10 minutes for them to arrive," he added.

A ward attendant pointed out that the delay is also due to the large number of people on every floor who frequently need to use the elevators. "They almost halt on every floor most of the time. It is more problematic when one of them is not working," he said. The building houses all the essential departments, including orthopaedics, paediatrics, and a dedicated ward for monsoon ailments.

The issue was flagged on social media on August 2, where a Twitter user tagged local authorities and pointed out that elevators at the hospital were dysfunctional for a few hours. Meanwhile, the hospital's Chief Engineer, Satyajeet Bhate, stated that elevator problems have become a weekly occurrence.

"Anytime a patient is being taken on a trolley, they end up pulling it even as the doors are about to shut halfway. There is some issue with the lifts on a weekly basis," he said. Repair works are taken up soon, resolving the issue within a day or two, depending on the problem. "The lifts are very old, but we have been maintaining them as per requirements."

The hospital is also facing a shortage of staff to manage crowding and ensure the smooth functioning of the elevators. "All the lift attendants have now retired. The hospital has not filled up the required posts in the last year," Bhate said.