Mumbai: After special ward, more facilities for transgender people at Gokuldas Tejpal hospital

The country's first transgender ward was inaugurated on Friday at the state-run Gokuldas Tejpal (GT) Hospital located near Crawford Market. Besides, the hospital has also started the facilities of sero survey, mental health screening and a drug treatment centre for the community.

𝗩𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

The hospital specified that the new ward is for general treatment and if a trans is brought in a critical condition, the patient will be shifted to the ICU for necessary treatment. In case, if a patient is suffering from an infectious disease like tuberculosis, the individual will be admitted to ward no. 7 to avoid infection spreading to other patients in the special ward.

JJ Hospital Dean Dr Pallavi Saple said they have experienced that transgenders are usually uncomfortable in getting admitted to male wards and there is resistance from female patients if they are hospitalised in a women's unit. Following this, a decision was made to have a separate ward for them.

𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱

“Suggestions of representatives of the transgender community were taken while designing the ward. We have taken utmost care to prepare the ward and our staff to make them comfortable and feel accepted by us. We have conducted training sessions for our employees to sensitise them about the special problems faced by the community and how to deal with them empathetically,” she said.

Moreover, to serve the transgender population better, there is an advisory team which has vast experience about the problems faced by the community, she added. The ward consists of 30 beds, gender-neutral toilets, and examination and dressing rooms.