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BMC
seeks revival of yet another hospital
Soumya
Viswanathan
The
Brihan Mumbai Corporation (BMC)’s privatization
initiative cell is on a fast track, having identified
several centers for dose of private medicine. While
it is seeking aid for Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle, from
private players, it is considering handing over around
10 maternity homes, recently built, for private management.
The BMC, which runs 4 major medical college-attached
hospitals, 26 maternity homes and 169 dispensaries,
created its privatization initiative cell in December
1999 due to its ailing financial position.
Chief superintendent Dr W S Bhatki, peripheral hospitals
requests that privatization initiative not be misunderstood
as privatizing existing hospitals. He says, “We
are not privatizing our existing municipal hospitals.
The policy is to invite private participation only when
upgradation for existing hospitals runs into huge sums.
The hospitals will be upgraded against some land offered
for healthcare purpose.”
He clarified that only new hospitals, where there is
no staff, will be handed over for private management
after charging some premium and condition that around
30 per cent of beds are reserved for free treatment.
Dr Bhatki says that paucity of funds is mainly because
70 per cent of their resources go into salaries.
Following this policy, it has put Cooper Hospital building,
which is in a bad condition, on its revival agenda.
Cooper Hospital is one of its 16 peripheral hospitals,
for which the BMC will invite Expression of Interest
(EOI) from private parties in a month.
Sources say that 90 per cent of the 520-bed old hospital
building has been vacated and services have been shifted
to other wings in the same compound and two peripheral
municipal hospitals. The demolition of the building
and construction of a new building would cost around
Rs 15 crore. The private player will be required to
construct this building and hand it over to the BMC
in return for some FSI in the premises that can be utilized
for setting up any kind of healthcare centre for commercial
purpose.
The FSI that is available is 4 out of which 1.5 is being
used by BMC for the hospital. The rest would be available
to the private player. The building that the private
player would build would be charged property tax and
a one-time premium. The terms and conditions would depend
on the bidder, clarified a senior official.
Centinary Hospital, Kandivali is being resurrected on
similar lines. The building will be demolished and run
as a municipal hospital in return for some FSI in the
premises being given for commercial healthcare purpose.
The Marol Cancer Hospital is a partially built structure,
which the private participant will have to complete
and pay a premium of Rs 35 lakh that has been spent
by BMC in construction. A portion of beds will be reserved
for poor. The selection process of partners for both
these hospitals has been going on since early this year.
Besides Cooper Hospital, BMC has also identified premises
in Siddharth Hospital and Centinary Hospital, Govandi,
where private players will run blood banks on a no-profit
no-loss basis. The annual rent will be Re 1. The bidders’
suggestion in the pre-bid meeting that the contract
with the BMC, who will own the land be renewed after
30 years instead of 10 years due to an investment of
nearly Rs 30 lakh, has been accepted by BMC. The BMC
advisory committee will oversee the running of these
blood banks to ensure that they follow blood policy
and keep prices at an optimum level. Talks are also
on to build a hi-tech trauma unit in Bhagwati Hospital
which would incur an expense of around Rs 50 lakh with
the help of private participant against offer of land
to run chemist shop. BMC’s first privatization
initiative, handing over its newly built hospital in
Andheri to the charitable Bramhakumari Trust Hospital
was completed with the inauguration of hospital in May
this year.
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