Mumbai: Six BMC hospitals to open generic medicine shops within 15 days

A prefabricated unit installed at RN Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle West. PIC/SARTHAK MEHTA

Six Mumbai hospitals run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are set to receive generic medicine shops aimed at providing affordable healthcare to the patients soon.

Prefabricated shops for the initiative have been installed at the premises of Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (Sion Hospital) this week.

The first six hospitals

>> Dr Rustom Narsi Cooper Municipal General Hospital in Vile Parle West
>> Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Sion West
>> Khan Bahadur Bhabha Municipal General Hospital in Kurla West
>> Bharatratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal General Hospital in Kandivli West
>> Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Shatabdi Municipal General Hospital in Govandi
>> Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Municipal Hospital in Jogeshwari East

Spl initiative was proposed last year

The initiative was proposed last year by the National Federation of Farmers' Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India (NACOF), and the BMC approved it with 50 civic hospitals to receive such NACOF-operated shops in the first phase. "Work is ongoing for the rest of hospitals. The initial six locations should be fully operational shops in 15 days. We will be able to see how these setups fare, and will note important feedback about the initiative," said a NACOF official.

Shop specifications

The shops come ready to install, prefabricated as a metal container, with an area spanning 150 square feet. They would have customer service windows on two sides and a gate to access them on one side. The space to install them has been leased by the BMC to NACOF for 15 years at the rent rate of R750 per month. "The objective is to provide affordable generic medicine options to the patients conveniently within the hospital premises," a NACOF official said.

Move is not without controversy

The state government had decided to allot space in every public hospital to NACOF without a tendering process in 2023. The government supported the move by stating that patients would have easy access to generic medicines under this initiative as a part of the Union government's Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (generic medicine policy).

Opposition leaders had opposed the decision, calling it an abuse of power, demanding a probe. "No tenders were issued, and the decision was based solely on a letter from BJP MLC Pravin Darekar. It clearly proves the irregularities, and the whole process must be probed by a committee under the retired Justice," NCP-SP MP Supriya
Sule had stated.

Official Speak

Manoj Kumar Gupta, state manager, NACOF
‘We will provide the best service to the customer while keeping the costs minimum. This initiative will directly benefit the public. Work towards implementation of this initiative at the rest of the hospitals is ongoing.'