On one hand, the Maharashtra government has ambitious plans to upgrade all its hospitals to super-speciality facilities but on the other, there is no intent to resolve ongoing problems faced by patients visiting the state-run St George’s Hospital. The main operation theatre of the hospital has been out of operation for the last two years; as a result, those patients in need of surgery are referred to the Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy (J J) and Cama & Albless hospitals.
There are plans to convert the hospital into a super-specialty PG medical institute but the patient services have been badly hit due to the shortage of experienced doctors. The only patients seen are in the outpatient department, who cannot be admitted to the hospital even if required.
St George Hospital Imp During Emergencies
St George’s Hospital has a 467-bed capacity and gets patients from Fort, Colaba, Masjid Bunder and nearby areas. The hospital plays a major role in emergencies, due to its proximity to the CSMT. Train accident victims between CSMT and Wadala are brought here for treatment. The hospital also has an ICU, making it a life-saver.
The hospital was fully functional during Covid but is currently empty. In the pandemic, emergency surgeries for Covid patients were performed in the main OT of the hospital, but in July 2021, there was a short circuit, after which it was closed, with plans to make it a modular OT.
Sources Says Surgeries Have Come To Standstill
“Everything was planned but the OT has not reopened even after two years. Because of the non-availability of a major OT, gynaecological and obstetric, plastic, eye, ear and nose surgeries have come to a standstill. Many a time, emergency patients are referred to J J or Cama Hospitals because there aren’t any doctors available,” according to a hospital source.
When this reporter tried to contact the hospital superintendent, Dr Vinayak Sawardekar, he was unavailable.
No senior paediatrician, gyn & obs don't have ward: hospital official
According to another hospital official, there is no senior doctor in the paediatrics department. A resident doctor looks after the OPD and if there is a need for admission or surgery, the patient is asked to come to J J. On the other hand, there is a complete unit in the Gynaecology and Obstetrics department, but they do not have a ward because the OT is not functional yet. Even after going to the Unit Head in the Department of Neurology, the resident doctors there have taken the lead.
On average, at least 1,000 patients daily visited the hospital OPD for treatment, before Covid, the official informed. The number of hospitalisations was around 20 to 25 per day. However, after Covid, OPD footfall has drastically dropped and is yet to improve.
