The paediatric department of the State-run JJ Hospital will soon be shifted to the building that houses the gynaecology department.

The hospital authorities have decided to rearrange the wards in order to bring the mother and child care services under one roof.

JJ Hospital’s newly appointed dean, Dr. Ajay Chandanwale, said that having maternal care and child care services in close proximity would be helpful.

Dr. Chandanwale said, “The ground floor of Balaram building housed the psychiatry and leprosy wards, and the tuberculosis ward was situated on the first floor. We have shifted these wards to another building to make space for the paediatric wards.” The four-storey Balaram building now houses the gynaecology department, labour ward and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Close comfort: The four-storey Balaram building will now house the paediatric and gynaecology departments.   | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre

Dr. Ashok Anand said, “Apart from the paediatric wards, the paediatric ICU may also be shifted to offer comprehensive mother and child care under one roof.”

He said maternal and child care services are interconnected and most hospitals have these departments located close to each other.

The JJ Hospital campus is spread across over 40 acres with departments located in different buildings. Doctors say some rearrangement may help patients and the hospital staff. The hospital will see a transformation soon with a new super speciality building being planned. Recently, the hospital received a green signal from the government to construct a super speciality tower, which will house over 20 operation theatres and state-of-the-art cardiac care facilities. A heritage building on campus was demolished after acquiring permissions to make space for the tower.