Mumbai: Doctors at HBT Medical College and Dr. R. N. Cooper Municipal General Hospital, Juhu, Vile Parle, have written to the Dean highlighting an acute manpower shortage that is crippling patient care and crowd management. In their letter, the doctors cautioned that unless urgent steps are taken, essential medical services could face severe disruption.
Doctors Warn of Manpower Shortage
According to the doctors, the hospital is facing an acute shortage of Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs), Medical Officers (MOs), registration assistants, X-ray technicians, dressers, ambulance attendants, pharmacists, and other supportive staff. The situation has worsened because the contractual period of many employees has ended, but no extension orders or fresh appointments have been issued.
Key Staff Vacancies Across Departments
“As a result, the smooth functioning of hospital services is severely affected. Patient management is being delayed, crowd control has become difficult, and the existing limited staff are overburdened. If this issue is not addressed urgently, it may lead to a breakdown of essential medical services,” the letter stated.
Chaos in Out-Patient Department
The concerns come after chaotic scenes were witnessed on Monday, September 1, 2025, when hundreds of patients were left waiting for hours in the Out-Patient Department (OPD). The queue of patients for registration for OPD stretched nearly a kilometre as around 15 contractual workers were suddenly removed once their term lapsed, and the renewal or appointment of new staff did not take place. This led to long waiting hours, delays in registration, and anger among patients and their relatives.
Disability OPD Services Suspended
Meanwhile, disability OPD services for new patients have been suspended for two weeks at the hospital due to the ongoing staff shortage. On Tuesday, the Medical Superintendent granted temporary permission to halt fresh enrolments after the head of the disability OPD department highlighted the issue in a letter. Doctors explained that the absence of registration assistants had made it difficult to continue taking in new disability patients. However, they assured that services for existing patients would continue without interruption.
Ripple Effect on Other Services
Hospital insiders said that due to the current shortage of manpower across different departments, many other medical services are also likely to be affected in the coming days. Allegations have also surfaced that the crisis was triggered by the previous administration’s failure to properly renew staff contracts, leaving the new management struggling to cope with the situation.
Administrative Lapses Blamed
Doctors have now urged the civic authorities and hospital administration to urgently renew existing contracts or recruit new staff on priority, warning that if corrective measures are not taken soon, the hospital may witness further disruption in its essential healthcare services.
Dr. Neelam Andrade, Director of BMC Hospitals and acting dean of Cooper Hospital, did not respond to calls or messages seeking her comment.
Patient Care at Risk Without Action
Reacting to the developments, Dr. Neelam Andrade, Director of BMC Hospitals and acting Dean of Cooper Hospital, said, “We are holding an urgent meeting tomorrow under the chairmanship of the Deputy Municipal Commissioner to discuss various issues. The matter will be sorted out.”
