Hosps’ privatisation plan: Union warns of hunger strike

Mumbai: For over two weeks, labour unions have voiced growing unease over BMC's decision to allow private players to operate two public hospitals in Mumbai—Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli and Lallubhai Compound Hospital in Mankhurd. Union leaders, who hinted at protests, including a hunger strike, in the coming days, said the public-private partnership model risks driving up healthcare costs for patients and further diminishes job prospects for hospital staff.
Bhagwati Hospital, which underwent a major expansion, will see its capacity surge from 110 to 490 beds. BMC will retain control of just 147 of them. At Lallubhai Compound Hospital—a tertiary care facility in the densely populated, rehabilitated neighbourhood—the public share will be even smaller: BMC will oversee only 150 of 410 beds.
Residents in the vicinity of the hospitals, too, are worried. Santosh Rana, who lives in an informal settlement near Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Ambedkar (Shatabdi) Hospital in Kandivli, said there is a need for another hospital as people as far from Palghar reach Shatabdi Hospital for treatment, leading to crowding. "My mother died several years ago at Bhagwati Hospital. Such hospitals are needed for people like us" He said his father's postmortem examination was also carried out at the same hospital. "How can we afford private rates?" said Rana, who works as a driver.
Avinash Thawani, a Borivli resident, said the area does not have a reliable tertiary care hospital. "Residents either visit private hospitals or nursing homes or rush to Shatabdi Hospital," he said.
BMC officials said the privatisation decisions were taken after careful consideration and that as of now, there are no discussions on a rollback, amid local politicians raising unions' concerns. Ashok Jadhav, who heads Municipal Mazdoor Union, said, "We have submitted a number of letters to the BMC commissioner as well as other officials. All we have asked is a round of discussion with the unions, but there has been no response."
Pradeep Narkar, general secretary of the union, said there will be a round of meetings held with about 200 union members, after which there would be a rotational hunger strike by all the hospital staffers. "The union meeting will be held at the end of this week," he said.