[ad_1]
Mumbai:
In the ongoing winter session of the state assembly in Nagpur on Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Bandra Ashish Shelar sought government intervention to keep the Seven Hills Hospital (SHH) operational. “The government should clarify in the house whether the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will take over the hospital to provide services to the city’s patients,” asked Shelar, while discussing the BMC-run hospitals. In response, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the state government would decide on the purchase of the hospital after the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) verdict on the ongoing hospital litigation.
“Then we will discuss how patient services will be possible through BMC,” Shinde said.
The Marol hospital has been the center for Covid-affected patients since April 2020, after the BMC took over the defunct facility two-and-a-half years ago under the Disaster Management Act. At that time, Reliance Foundation Hospital (RFH) came forward to manage 107 beds (out of a total of 1850). However, with a drastic drop in the number of cases, the BMC in October 2022 set up a six-member committee, headed by Dr. Sanjeev Kumar (Additional Municipal Commissioner) to review the performance of the SHH.
The commission submitted a proposal to close the facility by December, and employees were indirectly informed of its imminent closure. Disheartened, they approached the authorities, including Ashish Shelar, following which the BMC put its decision on hold.
The hospital has 1000 employees, of which 183 are doctors.
Looking back
In 2005, the civic body entered into an agreement with Seven Hills Healthcare Pvt Ltd, where the latter was given permission to build a 1,496-bed hospital in Marol, in which 20% of the beds would be reserved for the economically disadvantaged. By 2017, the hospital found itself in financial difficulties. At the time, the BMC also alleged that the hospital had not complied with the terms of the lease agreement and had waived its annual rent. ₹10 lakhs. In 2018, he issued a termination, after which the private body initiated a court action.
Following the decline in the number of Covid-19 cases, SHH has taken on non-Covid and post-Covid cases, including mucormycosis, at affordable rates. As of October 2021, SHH has admitted 3071 non-Covid patients and performed 856 major surgeries, including cardiac bypass, urology and orthopedic interventions such as knee and hip replacement, ENT, among others. It also occupied 631 cases in the laboratory.
“Treatment is provided at affordable prices.” For example, the detour is done on ₹2 lakh, which would cost around ₹5 lakh in a private hospital. A knee replacement costs approx ₹1.4 lakh as opposed to almost ₹4 lakh in private hospitals. BMC should go ahead with SHH as it will help middle-class patients get affordable treatment,” said a doctor from SHH.
SHH-RFH tug of war
The hospital, which currently has 60 patients, 10 of whom are affected by Covid-19, wrote to the RFH asking to hand over the 107 beds they have been managing since the pandemic. In the absence of MoU with RFH, it is difficult for BMC to evict them from the premises. The civic body has sent two notices to RFH, the last one in October. A month later, Reliance officials said they wanted to discuss the matter with top BMC officials and come back with a proper notice.
Speaking to HT, Dr Tarang Gianchandani, CEO, RFH said, “Since the cases have come down to zero, we will complete the infrastructure created at the facility and vacate the premises in some time.
Redemption intent
In mid-2018, RFH was among 15 entities that submitted documents on expression of interest for the purchase of the hospital. When asked about the issue for the future, Dr. Gianchandani said, “We will keep you informed.”
Meanwhile, the BMC intends to hire a law firm to resolve the legal dispute. Her lawyer, Sunil Sonavane, posted an ad last week to that effect. “The case is very complicated and is handled under various provisions of the law on insolvency and bankruptcy.” Heard at NCLT, Hyderabad. We want SevenHills,” Sonavane said.
[ad_2]
Source link
