On March 4, 2023, the Chief Minister of the state, Eknath Shinde, visited the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital (CSMH) in Kalwa, which is run by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). During his visit, the CM instructed TMC chief Abhijit Bangar to relocate the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College and hostel to another location to make more space available for the expansion of the CSMH hospital, so that it can run at full capacity.
The need for space for medical service facilities has been a long-standing issue, and the relocation of the college and hostel has been planned for some time. On Monday, April 17, the TMC chief inspected a new building at Majiwada along with other officials. The building has five floors and was previously used as a post-Covid center where counseling was given to recovered patients.
Bangar stated that most of the space in the building is free as RT-PCR tests are being conducted there, and planning should be done to use the space properly. The TMC chief suggested that the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College should be shifted to this new building or the existing post-Covid center building. He also recommended that a renowned architect be appointed to construct classrooms, laboratories, and a canteen, and the medical officers should be consulted to prepare the college's architectural plan.
Bangar further instructed the town planning department to follow up and hand over the building to the health department after obtaining information about the newly constructed building from the developer. Once the college and hostel are relocated to the new building, a large amount of space will be available at CSMH, Kalwa. This will allow the hospital to increase its capacity from 500 to 1,000 beds by expanding the departments that currently have an additional burden of patient care, and provide better quality medical services to citizens.
During the inspection, Bangar also visited the medicine storehouse on the second floor of the post-Covid center building, where a large amount of medical material was found. He directed the concerned officials to audit the material and expressed his strong disapproval of the unsanitary conditions. As a result, CSMH dean Rakesh Barot was instructed to issue a show-cause notice to the officials in charge of the warehouse.
In summary, the relocation of the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College and hostel to a new building in Majiwada will provide more space for the expansion of the CSMH hospital and allow for better quality medical services to be provided to citizens. The inspection of the post-Covid center building revealed the need for improved sanitation and the proper auditing of medical material, which was addressed by the concerned officials.
