PMC to shift Naidu hospital; former deputy mayor against move

However, a former deputy mayor and ruling party corporator have warned of taking action against the civic administration if the hospital is shifted in haste.

“The official order for shifting of the Naidu hospital has been signed by senior officials. It will be shifted to the newly-developed dedicated Covid hospital in Baner where a building constructed for commercial purpose has been converted for the treatment of Covid patients,” said an official.

So, the civic health department will have to shift the patients and staff to the new location in Baner, he said.

PMC health chief Ashish Bharati said, “We have not yet started the shifting. I will not be able to share the detailed plan about it.” The civic body has set up a trust to run the medical college, at an estimated cost of Rs 622 crore. A total of 595 doctors, nurses and other necessary staff will be recruited to run the college.

The PMC’s plan to shift Naidu hospital in Baner is facing opposition as the location is surrounded by residences and commercial establishments.

Former deputy mayor Siddarth Dhende, who is also an alliance partner of the ruling BJP in PMC and a practising doctor, said that the civic administration is not sharing any information on the shifting of the Naidu hospital.

“I visited them for information but they did not furnish the documents to me. I was informed that the state government has permitted to set up only two infectious disease hospitals in the state — in Pune and Nagpur. The fully-equipped Naidu hospital in the heart of the city has been operating for years and has proved beneficial in controlling infectious disease,” Dhende said.

The state government’s permission for infection disease hospital has been given after ensuring fulfilment of all the necessary conditions, he said. “It is necessary for the PMC to take the approval of the state government on using the facility at Baner to transfer the Naidu hospital. However, the civic administration informed me that they have not taken any permission from the state government. The Baner facility is not authorised,” Dhende added.

Moreover, the shifting of Naidu hospital in the middle of the pandemic was wrong, Dhende said. “The Covid-19 outbreak is still a cause of concern with Pune being one of the worst-affected cities in the country. There is no need for rushing with the shifting of hospitals in the present situation.”