It’s finally curtains for Nesco, Dahisar and Kanjurmarg facilities
The dismantling of Goregaon’s NESCO jumbo centre has already started, said civic officials
After much back and forth, the BMC has decided to dismantle its Nesco, Dahisar and Kanjurmarg jumbo COVID centres. The other such facilities in the city will be kept on standby, for now, said officials. Since March, the civic body had been toying with the idea of shutting a few jumbo centres as they barely had any patients and it had to spend on their upkeep. » P03
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Following the sudden surge in infections after March 2020, the civic body scrambled to have more beds for patients. It built seven jumbo centres at BKC, Nesco Goregaon, NSCI Worli, Richardson & Cruddas Byculla, Dahisar, Mulund, and Kanjurmarg, which handled the bulk of the load during the three waves. The centres also drew praise from the Supreme Court.
While the BMC had planned to close down a few of them after the third wave receded, it held back the decision on account of a study by IIT-Kanpur that predicted a surge in June-July. Even the state’s COVID Task Force was divided on the future of the jumbo centres.
“After a series of discussions and assessing the current situation, we have decided to shut down Nesco, Crompton and Greaves Kanjurmarg and Dahisar centres as there are no patients. The rest of the centres will be on standby,” said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner.
Officials said BMC pays Rs 4 to Rs 4.4 crore a month for the Nesco centre and around Rs 3.4 crore for the Dahisar facility. It also spends Rs 6.4 crore a month on the Kanjurmarg centre.
Dr Neelam Andrade, dean of Nesco jumbo COVID centre, said it came up on June 2, 2020 and has 2,797 beds of which 173 have ventilators. “Till February, 26,567 patients were treated here. We have the lowest mortality rate compared to others. We fought as a team and are happy to have saved lives.”
Though the Kanjurmarg centre saw fewer admissions, it was one of the finest facilities as per BMC officials. Its dean Dr Harish Pathak said, “The centre was made to tackle the third wave. We have 2,000 beds of which 200 are ICU, 1,150 are oxygen supported and 63 have ventilators.”
Dr Deepa Shriyan, dean of the Dahisar centre, said they had treated 10,300 patients, including 4,000 critical cases, till February. “People always have a perception that BMC hospitals are for the treatment of the poor and we provide poor services. But 80 per cent of our patients were from the middle and upper class. With our services and experience, we have changed their perception.”
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