One of Mumbai’s oldest govt hospitals hit by massive staff crunch

The hospital mostly caters to patients from Colaba, Fort, Masjid Bunder and other nearby areas. File pic

St George's Hospital, one of Mumbai's oldest medical facilities, has been unable to cater to patients the way it used to before COVID reared its ugly head. The hospital's gynaecology, paediatric and plastic surgery departments have been closed for months due to a staff crunch. Also, no major surgery is being carried out as the main operation theatre is dysfunctional.

Due to the unavailability of services, the sick have to opt for other hospitals. The hospital, which has 467 beds, caters to patients from Colaba, Fort and Masjid Bunder. The hospital is situated next to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, which makes it handy in times of railway-related emergencies. It is also close to the Eastern Express Highway and often treats those who have accidents on the stretch.

St George's Hospital's ICU facility has proved vital to saving patients' lives. However, the facility, which used to be bustling, before COVID-19 is now seeing a drop in the number of patients due to the unavailability of expert doctors.

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OT blues

A source from the hospital said, "During the pandemic, emergency surgery on COVID-positive patients was being conducted in the hospital but there was a fire at the main operation theatre (OT). Since then, the OT has been undergoing renovation and it was decided that a modular OT be built but the main OT is still not ready."

Prior to the pandemic, the hospital saw far more patients than it does now. File pic

At least 10 to 15 surgeries used to take place daily at the hospital. When caesarean deliveries took place, the number was even higher. Now, small and non-emergency surgeries are conducted at the modular OT. The plastic surgery department of St George's was famous for its gender-affirming surgery, but due to the unavailability of the main OT, the plastic surgery department has been temporarily moved to JJ hospital.

"Emergency surgeries are not taking place, which is causing lots of inconvenience to patients who have to run to other hospitals during emergencies," said the source. Dr Vinayak Savardekar, superintendent of St George's Hospital, told mid-day, "Surgery was never halted. We have one more OT in which we are carrying out procedures. Repair work at the main OT has been going on and a few minor things are pending. In the coming two weeks, it will be ready to serve the people."

Lack of doctors

Before COVID, 1,000 patients on an average would visit the outpatient department daily while around 20 to 25 patients were admitted to the inpatient department. However, the OPD figure has come down by 70 per cent. A senior doctor said, "We don't have doctors for the paediatric and gynaecology departments. Before, the hospital used to get resident doctors from JJ hospital but this is no longer the case. The paediatric and gynaecology department is nonfunctional and patients are being referred to Cama and JJ hospital for treatment."

467
No of beds at hospital

15
No of surgeries that took place daily