Mumbai: BMC-run Dr R.N Cooper
Hospital is set to appoint a new acting dean within the next week, marking the
second such change in recent months. The decision comes in the wake of the assault on three
duty doctors in the hospital’s casualty department last week.
The leadership reshuffle
was finalised during a meeting between civic officials and cabinet minister
Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Wednesday. Dr Neelam Andrade, who heads BYL Nair Dental
Hospital and was earlier appointed acting dean, said, “We will be
appointing someone who will be able to attend to Cooper Hospital
full-time.”
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in another shocking incident of violence against medical professionals, a Casualty Medical Officer, a resident doctor from the Medicine department, and an intern doctor of Dr R.N. Cooper Municipal General Hospital were allegedly assaulted inside the casualty ward while on duty by the relatives of a deceased patient.
According to The Times of India, the hospital cannot appoint a permanent dean due to an ongoing probe against former dean
Dr. Sudhir Medhekar, who faces allegations of irregularities in multipurpose
worker contracts. Dr. Medhekar has denied the charges, claiming he is being targeted
for exposing corruption within the health department. He currently serves as
the academic dean without administrative authority.
The decision to appoint a
new acting dean came after Minister Lodha inspected KEM Hospital on
Monday, where he criticised delays in essential services such as MRI access,
long outpatient queues, and the lack of an online registration system.
These problems have remained
permanent in all four BMC-run medical college hospitals in recent years, as
there has been a marked scarcity of workforce. Though Lodha paid a visit, senior
doctors at the hospital claimed that the real challenges the facility faces have
not been addressed. While Lodha did not address all the questions after the
meeting, MLA Ameet Satam said the steps will be taken to resolve the issues of shortage
of medicines at KEM Hospital within 15 days. A senior BMC official said all
hospitals have the authority to make local purchases as per their requirements, reports the daily. Moreover, 10 new registration centres will be established at KEM Hospital for
smoothly completing the registration process.
