The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will fill 790 additional posts at Cooper Hospital and Hinduhridaysamrat Shivsenapramukh Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Hospital to address staff shortages and strengthen patient services, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Health) Sharad Ughade said during a meeting on Tuesday.
The recruitment plan was discussed at the Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari during a meeting chaired by Mumbai North-West MP Ravindra Waikar. Senior civic health officials, hospital administrators and local representatives attended the meeting, which focused on pending issues involving the two hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the constituency.
According to the report, the BMC health department had not prepared a revised staffing pattern for its hospitals since 2013. Several posts, including positions for doctors, consequently remained vacant across municipal hospitals, placing pressure on hospital services. The department has now prepared a new staffing pattern under which the 790 additional posts will be filled at Cooper and Trauma Care hospitals.
The meeting also addressed the availability and cost of medicines. Generic medicine facilities are planned at 50 BMC hospitals after Waikar raised the issue with Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Prataprao Jadhav. The facility at Cooper Hospital has been completed, while a similar facility at Trauma Care Hospital is expected to begin soon.
Trauma Care Hospital currently does not have a physiotherapy department, although it serves patients from Jogeshwari, Andheri and Goregaon, including economically weaker patients. The administration assured the meeting that a physiotherapy service would be launched soon. Paediatric surgeries will also be introduced at the hospital, in addition to Cooper Hospital, while the tender process for a neonatal intensive care unit is in its final stage.
The hospital currently has 10 intensive care unit beds. Waikar directed officials to increase the number to 100, saying the existing capacity was inadequate. The administration said the proposal would be discussed before a decision is taken.
The meeting also reviewed other municipal healthcare projects. Construction of the 150-bed Oshiwara maternity hospital is under way and is expected to be completed by December 2026. The design for a proposed maternity hospital at Scotts Colony has been completed, with the tender process expected to begin soon.
Officials will also discuss whether the maximum age limit for contractual employees should be raised from 38 to 43 years. Waikar directed the civic administration to take action against contractors that had failed to deposit employees’ provident fund contributions, including possible blacklisting of such agencies.
Waikar suggested an 11-member committee to monitor the functioning of the two hospitals and the quality of patient services. He also proposed allowing self-help groups to operate hospital canteens, installing CCTV cameras at important locations and placing patient information boards prominently. A public toilet near Cooper Hospital was also discussed for patients and relatives travelling from Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Waikar said he was willing to use his MP fund for the facility if the hospital administration provides suitable land.
