Mumbai: Four expanded civic hospitals in suburbs to be ready in 2024

Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli will get 114 more beds, bringing its total capacity after expansion to 490. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The expansion of four civic-run peripheral hospitals in the suburbs is in the final stages and will be completed in 2024, Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde has said. The expansion will increase the capacity of peripheral hospitals by 773 beds and introduce super speciality treatments like nephrology, cardiology, urology and gastroenterology.

According to civic commissioner IS Chahal's budget speech for 2023-24, the redevelopment of MT Agarwal Hospital in Mulund, Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli, and Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi was to be completed by October 2023. However, due to technical reasons and owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was delayed by a few months. Bandra's Bhabha Hospital is scheduled to be ready as per schedule by March 2024.

According to another BMC official, increasing the capacity of peripheral hospitals with super speciality treatment in the suburbs will help reduce the load on major hospitals like Nair, KEM and Sion. "It would also bring super speciality treatment closer to the people in the suburbs. We are trying to complete this project before mid-2024," the official said.

Post expansion, the four hospitals' combined capacity would be 2,370, including 331 ICU beds. Currently, the 16 civic-run peripheral hospitals in the suburbs, including the ones being expanded, have around 4,500 beds. This would increase to around 5,273 after the expansion.

Increase per hospital

Bhabha Hospital in Bandra will have 51 more beds, increasing its total capacity to 497 beds, including 390 general beds and 61 ICU beds. The hospital will get other facilities like a cath lab and cardiac care.

Bhagwati Hospital will get 114 more beds, bringing its post-expansion total to 490 beds, including 378 general beds, 70 general ICU beds, 112 super-speciality beds, and 20 ICU beds. The hospital will have facilities for cardiology, dialysis, and gastroenterology.

Mulund's MT Agarwal Hospital will have 245 more beds, with its total capacity reaching 470 beds, including 310 general beds and 65 ICU beds. The hospital will have facilities for neurology, cardiology, plastic surgery, urology, gastroenterology, and NICU.

Govandi's Shatabdi Hospital's capacity will increase by 363 beds, bringing the total to 580 beds. This would include 390 general beds, 55 ICU beds, and 190 super-speciality beds. The hospital will have facilities for cardiology, medicine, and surgery.

51
Increase in beds at Bhabha Hospital

245
Increase in beds at MT Agarwal Hospital

363
Increase in beds at Shatabdi Hospital