Covid-19: Mumbai's first jumbo hospital at BKC clocks 2 years, has treated 27,000, vaccinated 4.8 lakh

MUMBAI: The city's first field hospital built to tide over the Covid-19 crisis completed two years on Thursday. The BKC jumbo centre in Bandra's MMRDA Grounds, which came up in a record 17 days during the first wave, has treated 26,683 patients and vaccinated over 4.8 lakh people.

Civic chief I S Chahal told TOI on Thursday the BKC jumbo has treated one of the highest number of patients and saved scores of lives during the first and second waves. "We plan to keep them active till September end as there are predictions about a potential fourth wave," he said. Between the first and the third waves, a total of nine jumbos were set up in Mumbai, adding almost 15,000 beds.

While the first makeshift medical facility came up inside NSCI Dome in Worli in April, BKC hospital was the first to be built from scratch on an open ground in 2020. On chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's instructions, MMDRA had taken up the mantle to construct the hospital, which also withstood two cyclones. After its inauguration on May 18, the first phase with 1,026 beds was thrown open on May 25. As cases continued to rise, the second phase came up in the next 20 days, including 108 ICU beds. Spanning 3.3 lakh square feet, a 2,500-bed centre came up finally.

BKC dean Dr Rajesh Dere recalled starting with 13 doctors sent by Directorate of Medical Education and Research, 14 ward boys from Sion hospital and 9 nurses from F-South Ward office. A mammoth hiring exercise followed. The Centre became a hotbed for innovations such as deployment of medical robots and ICUs inside containers. However, it faced heat over cleanliness and patient management. Dr Dere said despite a huge patient load, 74% with comorbidities, death rate was 3.7%.