Kandivali’s ESIC Hospital is all set to be converted into a dedicated COVID-19 facility with 300 beds. In a circular issued by the management on Wednesday, the employees were informed about this decision taken in a meeting with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The city currently has five dedicated COVID-19 hospitals: Nair, SevenHills, Kasturba, St. George and GT. Except for SevenHills, which is in Marol, all the other hospitals are in south Mumbai. A dedicated facility in the western suburbs will thus prove helpful. Other big civic hospitals like Sion and KEM are working on a hybrid model, taking both COVID-19 and non COVID-19 patients.
The ESIC Hospital currently has a 60-bed COVID-19 ward. In its circular, the management asked the administrative staff working in the hospital building to shift to their Marol office.
Healthcare staff working in the hospital, however, objected to moving the administrative staff. “The healthcare staff does not have any purchasing powers. By moving the administrative staff, getting PPEs and other things to work safely in the COVID-19 ward will be extremely difficult,” said a doctor. “The administrative staff was working on a different floor. There was no reason for them to move,” the doctor said.