09 September,2026 01:48 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
MP Ravindra Waikar holds a meeting at Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari on Tuesday to discuss issues concerning Cooper and Trauma Care hospitals. PIC/X
The long-standing shortage of doctors and other vacant posts at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Cooper Hospital and Hinduhridaysamrat Shivsenapramukh Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Hospital is likely to be addressed soon. Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Health) Sharad Ughade assured Mumbai North-West Member of Parliament (MP) Ravindra Waikar during a meeting that a large-scale recruitment drive for additional staff at both hospitals would be undertaken soon to address the difficulties faced by patients due to staff shortages.
Several important decisions, including the introduction of new services, were taken during the meeting held on Tuesday at the Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari under Waikar's chairmanship to urgently resolve pending issues concerning the Mumbai North-West Lok Sabha Constituency and Cooper Hospital. Ughade, senior officials from the civic health department, hospital administrators, and local representatives attended the meeting.
The health department had not prepared a revised staffing pattern for hospitals since 2013. As a result, several posts, including those of doctors, remained vacant across various BMC hospitals, putting pressure on hospital services.
To address this problem, the health department has now prepared a new staffing pattern. A total of 790 additional posts will soon be filled to strengthen services at Cooper and Trauma hospitals.
MP Waikar had earlier demanded, during a meeting with Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Prataprao Jadhav, that generic medicine facilities be made available at the Trauma and Cooper hospitals so that patients' relatives could purchase medicines at affordable prices. Accordingly, generic medicine facilities will be started at 50 locations across BMC hospitals.
Meanwhile, work on the facility at Cooper Hospital has been completed, while a similar facility will soon be started at the Trauma Hospital.
The Trauma Hospital, which caters to economically weaker patients from Jogeshwari, Andheri, and Goregaon, currently does not have a physiotherapy facility. A demand was made to start the department immediately, and the administration assured that the service would be launched soon.
Paediatric surgeries will now be performed at the Trauma Hospital in addition to Cooper Hospital. Ughade said that the tender process for starting a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Trauma Hospital is in its final stage.
Despite being a major trauma facility, the hospital currently has only 10 ICU beds. Waikar directed officials to increase the number to 100, stating that the existing capacity was inadequate. The administration assured him that the proposal would be discussed and a decision taken soon.
The construction of the 150-bed maternity hospital at Oshiwara is currently under way and is expected to be completed by December 2026, Ughade said.
The design for the proposed maternity hospital at Scotts Colony has also been completed, and the tender process will be initiated soon
A policy decision will be taken after discussions with senior officials on increasing the maximum age limit for contractual employees from 38 to 43 years.
Waikar directed officials to blacklist contractors engaged in works at Cooper and Trauma hospitals if they have failed to deposit employees' provident fund contributions. He also called for strict action against such agencies.
Waikar suggested forming an 11-member special committee to monitor the functioning of the hospitals and ensure that patients receive quality services and facilities.
He also suggested that self-help groups be allowed to operate hospital canteens, CCTV cameras be installed at all important locations and information boards for patients be put up at prominent places in the hospitals.
A large number of patients and their relatives visit Cooper Hospital every day from Mumbai and different parts of Maharashtra. Waikar suggested constructing a public toilet near the hospital for their convenience.
He said he was willing to use his MP fund for the construction of the toilet, provided the hospital administration makes suitable land available.
The meeting was attended by Director Dr Shailesh Mohite, Dean Dr Chhaya Shinde, Medical Superintendent Dr Kshirsagar, along with Rachana Sawant, Rajul Patel, department head Dnyaneshwar Sawant, and other office bearers and workers, including Altaf Pevekar, Raju Pednekar, Vaibhav Bharadkar, Priyanka Ambolkar, Dr Arif, Swapnil Nirbavane, Rajan Rane, Balkrishna Joshi, Nikhil Shinde, Babu Dhamapurkar, Manish Nair, Manoj Satarkar, Suchita Takke, and Swapnil Surve.
