Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde on Monday, July 13, inaugurated the newly renovated Casualty Building at Dr BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central. The event was attended by senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials and hospital authorities. The new facility includes paediatric emergency care, a minor operation theatre for simple sutures and casualty procedures, and a plaster room for orthopaedic cases.
This will make Nair Hospital the first BMC-run hospital to have a dedicated disaster management ward. This facility will treat large numbers of patients during disasters and major emergencies at a single location.
The disaster management ward will occupy an entire floor of the newly renovated casualty block. It will become operational within the next six months. The ward will begin with around 20 to 21 beds. It will be equipped to handle several patients at the same time during emergencies. It will also have backup stocks of medicines, medical equipment and other essential supplies. A blood collection room will also be available for quick laboratory testing.
The ward will be prepared to respond to both natural and man-made disasters. It will handle emergencies such as earthquakes, bomb blasts, building collapses, major fires and road accidents. A separate patient decontamination area will also be part of the facility. This section will treat people exposed to hazardous or toxic substances before they are moved for further care.
Hospital officials said patients will first be admitted and stabilised in the disaster ward before being shifted to hospitals that provide specialised treatment. Burn victims will receive immediate treatment at Nair Hospital before being transferred to Kasturba Hospital, which is dedicated to burn and plastic surgery services.
As per reports, the space identified for the disaster ward is currently functioning as a cardiology intensive care unit because the original cardiac ward is under renovation. Since the cardiology unit already has oxygen lines and other essential medical facilities, much of the required infrastructure is already available. Once the renovated cardiac ward is ready, the current unit will be converted into the dedicated disaster management unit, which will eventually expand to a capacity of 20 beds.
When there are no disasters or mass casualty incidents, the ward will treat regular trauma patients and those needing immediate critical care, as it will already have all the required medical resources.
The announcement was made during the inauguration of the renovated Accident and Emergency Medical Services department at Nair Hospital. The upgraded casualty section now provides paediatric, orthopaedic and medical emergency services. It also includes a minor operation theatre, a plaster room, X-ray and pathology facilities.
The department also has a dedicated round-the-clock section to process authorisations under state government medical claim schemes. Earlier, these approvals were available only during fixed working hours. Emergency operation approvals can now be completed at any time of the day or night.
The new facility will also include a mortuary. A casualty medical officer will remain available to handle medico-legal cases until all legal procedures are completed. The existing casualty building will eventually be replaced by a modern 20-storey residential building for Resident Medical Officers.