Mumbai: Patients awaiting MRI, CT scans, dialysis, cath labs, and blood bank facilities at six to seven peripheral hospitals will have to wait longer, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has extended the deadline for submitting tenders. The civic body had invited bids to outsource these services under its new Civic Health Collaboration Model.
New Collaboration Model Mirrors PPP
A corrigendum issued last week pushed the deadline by three weeks for five to six tenders covering dialysis units, cath labs, MRI and CT scan facilities, and blood banks. These will be set up in peripheral hospitals and run by private operators.
Despite strong opposition from residents and health activists, the BMC has moved ahead with outsourcing, only changing the nomenclature from the earlier public-private partnership (PPP) model to the new collaboration framework.
Under the scheme, the civic body will lease space in its hospitals to private operators, who will run services and charge patients at agreed rates. However, the tender documents do not clarify the minimum number of patients to be referred daily by BMC hospitals.
A senior civic health official admitted the new plan mirrors the earlier PPP system. “It is old wine in a new bottle. Patients will still have to pay for services,” the official said.
Peripheral Hospitals Identified
The peripheral hospitals identified include Rajawadi Hospital (Ghatkopar), M.T. Agarwal (Mulund), Dr. Ambedkar Hospital (Kandivli), Bhabha Hospitals (Bandra and Kurla), and Bhagwati Hospital (Borivali).
A civic doctor, requesting anonymity, pointed to challenges private operators may foresee. “Contractors fear that once civic elections are held, a new ruling party may cancel contracts, making their investment risky. Moreover, PPP operators rarely follow government norms. For instance, blood banks under PPP at Govandi Shatabdi, HBT Trauma (Jogeshwari), and Cooper Hospital do not provide free blood to thalassemia patients, despite it being mandatory.”
Concerns Over Private Operators and Service Norms
According to the tenders, new dialysis centres will be established at peripheral hospitals in Borivali, Mulund, Ghatkopar, and Kandivli. Each contract will run for 10 years, extendable twice by another 10 years. Patients referred by BMC will be charged ₹500 per dialysis session, while those under government health schemes will be billed at prescribed rates.
New Facilities and Charges
MRI and CT scan units will come up at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital (Kandivli West), Khurshidjee Behramjee Bhabha General Hospital (Bandra West), Harilal Bhagwati Municipal Hospital (Borivali), and M.T. Agrawal Municipal Hospital (Mulund). The civic body will provide space on rent for these facilities.
Activists Warn of Gradual Privatisation
However, health activists warn that without clear norms on service charges and referral quotas, private operators could prioritise patients from outside hospitals for profit. “The BMC, which already runs 212 health posts, 192 dispensaries, 30 maternity homes, and five specialised hospitals including four medical colleges, is gradually privatising essential healthcare. We have even seen contract doctors being appointed, and in one case, an unregistered doctor working in the ICU of V.N. Desai Hospital,” an activist said.
