Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital was formerly known as Willingdon Hospital. (Archive)Before All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), it was Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital that would cater to VIPs – from Harivansh Rai Bachhan to Lala Amarnath – seeking treatment.
Established as a 54-bedded hospital in 1932, RML was developed by the British Government and was formerly known as Willingdon Hospital, named after Lord Willingdon, who served as the 22nd Viceroy and Governor General of India from April 18, 1931 to April 18, 1936.
According to Madan Thapliyal, writer and former director of public relations at New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the hospital was a small clinic before it was rechristened Willingdon Hospital in 1932.
“In 1932, Lord Willingdon launched the NDMC townhall and approved the name change and further development of the clinic. Until 1938, it was under the NDMC,” said Thapliyal.
While Hindu Rao and Safdarjung Hospital catered to the masses, the then government needed a hospital and a nursing home where VIPs, bureaucrats, politicians and people in important positions living in Central Delhi could go for treatment.
And so, RML became the first hospital to have a nursing home facility in the capital. Post Independence, on January 1, 1954, the government of India took control of the hospital from the NDMC. In 1962, it came under central health service.
The hospital is situated on the crossing of Irwin Road, Talkatora Road and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road (formerly known as Park Street Road) facing Rashtrapati Bhavan.
By 1970, the hospital had started offering medical aid through out-patient and in-patient departments, which included general wards, special wards and nursing homes with a total of 610 beds, out of which 53 were nursing home beds.
Specialist services were also made available – medical, surgical, ENT, eye, skin, children’s diseases, obstetrics and gynaecology, physiotherapy, dental, orthopaedic, and family planning.
In 1972, the hospital had a staff of 58 doctors, 227 nurses and 870 administrative and other technical staff, including class III and IV.
According to Dr Rajiv Sood, head of the urology department at RML, the hospital has had major developments since the British era.
“The area which now has the psychiatry department used to be horse stable in the British era,” he said.
He added that former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, poet Harivansh Rai Bachhan, cricketer Lala Amarnath, and politician Raj Narain were also treated at the hospital.
In 1976, when a name change of several government institutions was taking place, the Willingdon hospital was converted into Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, named after the socialist leader.
Dr Lohia had, in fact, been admitted to the hospital in 1967, before the name change, for a prostate surgery.
Personal physicians to several Prime Ministers have also been appointed from RML.
“Dr Krishna Prasad Mathur from RML was the personal physician to Indira Gandhi, Dr Arun Sahaye to Rajiv Gandhi when he was the PM, Dr KPS Malik to Chandrashekhar,” said Dr Rajiv Sood.
On June 23, 1980, when Sanjay Gandhi’s aircraft crashed, he was brought to RML hospital. On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was brought there after being shot by three masked gunmen outside her Delhi bungalow.
A senior official working with the hospital said RML has witnessed several chapters in India’s history, including treating patients during the Parliament attack. “We were the first point of contact at the time, and a number of police personnels were treated at the hospital,” the official said.
The hospital also plays an important role during any national festival, including Republic Day and Independence Day, when paramedical staff and doctors from the hospital are deployed at the event.
According to the website of the hospital, it has grown over the years and currently has 1,532 beds, spread over 30 acres. It caters to the population of New Delhi and Central District, as well as patients from even outside Delhi.