'Aspatal Bachao, Nijikarn Hatao': Hundreds protest over hospital privatisation

MUMBAI: Nearly 200 residents and activists protested in Cheetah Camp and Mankhurd on Monday, opposing BMC's plan to privatise two peripheral hospitals and key health services in five others.

A total of 20 participants also sat on a hunger strike near Maharashtra Nagar Maternity Home, demanding stronger public health infrastructure.The protest, the second in recent weeks under the coalition banner 'Aspatal Bachao, Nijikarn Hatao', brought together 25 civil society groups and political parties. Activists remembered local residents who died because of poor hospital facilities and shortages.In a statement, the group alleged that more than half the women who visit smaller facilities like Shahji Nagar and Deonar maternity homes are sent directly to larger hospitals such as Sion Hospital or Rajawadi Hospital in critical condition.

“Several patients die during these referrals due to lack of timely treatment,” the statement read, adding that the cost of travel, medicines, and tests pushes families into debt within days.

On Saturday, TOI reported that the BMC plans to gradually privatise individual services, including blood banks, cardiology, and MRI at other peripheral hospitals, after a similar union faced protests when it tried to run entire hospitals on a public-private partnership.

Protesters demanded the immediate recruitment at the Maharashtra Nagar Maternity Home, restoration of paediatric ICUs, scrapping of all public-private partnership projects in civic hospitals, and guarantees that no patient will be denied care for lack of identification. They also called for a citywide plan to improve govt hospitals and weekly meetings with the municipal health officer to address complaints.Shubham Kothari of the Jan Haq Sangharsh Samiti said the demonstrators met with Chief Medical Superintendent of Peripheral Hospitals Dr Chandrakant Pawar and were promised their concerns would be raised with senior authorities.Dr Pawar remained unavailable for comment till press time.