BMC Budget 2018: BMC to finally focus on health sector, grants Rs 3636 crore in its annual budget

Mumbai: In order to transform  the infrastructure and reinforce the manpower at tertiary and periphery hospitals of the city,  the BMC on Friday granted Rs 3636.82 crore for the health sector, in its annual budget for the year 2018-2019. Among the important procurements are ventilator beds, which fall short in these civic and government run hospitals; the BMC is trying to change this situation.

The civic body plans to create a decentralised system where all emergency medical care will be distributed across the city. “We have procured about 230 ventilator beds which are going to be distributed among 25 periphery and major hospitals, so that we increase the capacity of the hospitals to handle emergencies. While creating new services, we are making sure no two similar services come up in hospitals which are close by, so that they are evenly distributed across the city,” said Idzes Kundan, Additional Municipal Commissioner (AMC).

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According to BMC statistics, over 40 per cent of the patients, who approach major hospitals, are referred by peripheral hospitals which has necessitat-ed improvement in the entire infrastructure.  “With Rs 1000 crores, Sion Hospital alone is set to be upgraded to an 1800-bed tertiary care facility. This work will start from July 2018. The redevelopment plans of Nair Hospital will cost of Rs 340 crore, and here too the effort is to upgrade its emergency medical services,” said a senior health official.

In addition, two multi-dimensional towers will be constructed at KEM Hospital. Under this, emphasis will be on promoting educational activities and enhancing health services,” said a senior health official. Welcoming the budget, Dr Avinash Supe, Medical Director and Dean of the King Edward Memorial hospital, said, “The budget allocation is appropriate and has been done keeping in mind the hospital’s requirements, and if we need something extra for equipment we can add to our requirements later.”

“We have been suggesting this for years as peripheral hospitals constitute the very root of the health care system in the city. Despite having the structure, due to lack of basic facilities, the hospitals fail to provide efficient treatment to patients which indirectly exerts pressure on bigger hospital. Patients should be referred to major hospitals only when the case is serious and can’t be treated at peripheral hospitals,” said Dr Ravikanth Singh, health activist.