As the city prepared to conduct drills assessing the readiness of emergency response agencies, mid-day discovered a concerning shortfall in the eastern suburbs
Civic-run Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital has a capacity of 210 beds. Pic/By Special Arrangement
As the city prepared to conduct drills assessing the readiness of emergency response agencies, mid-day discovered a concerning shortfall in the eastern suburbs. The civic-run Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, also known as Shatabdi Hospital, currently has no functioning intensive care unit (ICU). The 10-bed ICU has been shut down due to a shortage of doctors.
Shatabdi Hospital is located in the far eastern part of the suburbs at Govandi, an area surrounded by a densely populated slum. Sources from the hospital revealed that the ICU was shut down in February due to a lack of doctors.
“We used to receive postgraduate trainee doctors from the state-run JJ hospital under the district residency program (DRP), which stopped a few months ago. These doctors used to assist our ICU team. As we are no longer getting doctors under the DRP, we are unable to operate the ICU,” a hospital source told mid-day.
“Every day, we receive at least two patients who require ICU admission. Since our ICU is shut, we refer them to the civic-run Lokmanya Tilak Hospital in Sion.”
Dr Chandrakant Pawar, chief superintendent of the civic peripheral hospitals, said, “We are in the process of restarting ICU services.
The unit will be operational from the first week of June 2025.”
The hospital administration added, “We have immediately raised our demand for ICU doctors. We are hopeful that the ICU will become operational soon.”
The hospital, surrounded by major slum areas in Govandi and Mankhurd, has a capacity of 210 beds, of which 140 to 150 are usually occupied.
“Civic authorities must be held accountable, and such gross negligence must invite consequences under the directive principles of State Policy. Public health is not charity; it is a constitutional duty,” said Shaikh Faiyaz Alam, a health activist from Govandi.
“The sudden shutdown of Shatabdi hospital’s ICU ward exposes the deep-rooted maladministration and collapse of public health governance,” said Ateeque Ahmed Khan, a resident of Govandi.
“This hospital is surrounded by a highly dense slum population. These people mostly rely on the civic-run hospital. Now that the ICU is closed, they have to rush to Sion Hospital, which takes time. The authorities must consider our needs,” said Nafees Ansari, another resident.
Senior doctors at Shatabdi Hospital told mid-day, “We are prepared for emergencies. If required, we can increase the number of beds. Also, most of the time, 40 to 50 beds are vacant.”
mid-day also visited another civic-run facility, Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar. A senior medical officer at the hospital said, “We are ready for any situation. We can increase the number of beds if needed. Our doctors are willing to work round the clock. In an emergency, we can also arrange for doctors to stay in the hospital. We have a sufficient stock of medicines.”
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