500-bed civil healthcare facility proposed at mental hospital ground

Thane: Poor and needy patients from Thane have a reason to smile, as a proposal to develop a 500-bed civil hospital, has been sent to the state government, to seek an allotment of 5-10 acres of open land at the Thane regional mental hospital. This new hospital will be an extension of the existing 336-bed set up at the district civil hospital. The existing hospital is facing a shortage of space to accommodate the ever-increasing patients. So, starting a new hospital is the need of the hour.

Poor patients are crying foul with the dilapidated condition of the district civil hospital, which is operating from the rundown structures. Most of the facilities are inadequate. “A modern civil hospital is the need of the hour in lieu of this shoddy facility located in the heart of the city. Serious patients are at times referred to Mumbai, which results in a delay in the golden hour,” said Sudhir Kokate, local activist.

“A detailed proposal for a new set up at mental hospital was sent to the state government in order to decongest the existing one here which was established before independence way back in 1936 looking at the then population of the district. With a rise in population, the number of patients has also increased. As a result, more beds are needed to cater to the growing needs of patients,” said Dr Gauri Rathod, civil surgeon.

At least five acre and maximum 10 acres of land is sought for starting work on the proposed set-up to curb the record rush in the district hospital which has been facing space crunch. The proposal includes shifting of residential doctors, MRI and neurosurgery department and opening of surgery wing, plastic surgery department, pediatric surgery, modern laboratory etc which are lacking at the old set up.

A plan is also on hold for upgradation of the existing civil hospital with an estimated budget pegged at Rs 28.84 crore. But a decision is yet to formulate. “We had a series of meetings with higher ups, but nothing concrete is formalized on both fronts like upgradation of old hospital and coming up with extension ones,” said a senior official in health department.