Established over a century ago, the Masina Hospital is upgrading infrastructure and facilities across the board for a better patient experience.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revved up the refurbishment of one of the oldest and most iconic hospitals in south Mumbai. The Masina Hospital in the Byculla area will soon see renovated wards and operation theatres with state-of-the-art equipment.
тАЬIt will be more of modern upgradation than complete change. We are not going to increase the present capacity, nor will there be changes in the heritage structure of the hospital. We are in south Mumbai and we compete with some of the best hospitals not only in the city but in the country. The immediate vision and mission is to be among the top three hospitals of Mumbai,тАЭ said Behram Khodaiji, joint CEO of the hospital.
In a bid to do so, the hospital management is aiming at refurbishment. тАЬIt will be renovation of wards, making state-of-the-art operation theatres. The work has begun and it is going to be over in an year,тАЭ he said.
Masina hospital was established by Dr. Hormasji Masina in 1902 and has a campus of around seven and half acres. The heritage building that stands today was donated by Sir David Sassoon and the entire property was acquired at тВ╣25,000 then. A trust of prominent Parsi citizens was established to run the hospital and it continues to manage the hospital even today. The original name of the property was тАШSans SouciтАЩ which translates тАШwithout worries.тАЩ
While renovation plans were always on cards, the pandemic led the management to give it impetus. тАЬWe thought now is the time to ramp up and provide congenial atmosphere not only to patients but doctors as well. Patients will follow with good doctors and a proper eco-system to make everyone feel good and confident in a modern setting,тАЭ said Mr Khodaiji.
The hospital which began with only five to six beds, now boasts 270 beds. Among the many firsts, it hosted the cityтАЩs first x-ray unit in 1924, first open heart surgery (mitral valvotomy) and first neonatal care unit in the 60s. By the late 60s, the hospital catered to almost every specialisation, from dermatology to plastic surgery units.
тАЬIt is a full fledged multi-speciality tertiary care hospital. We are very proud of this rich legacy and want to take it forward,тАЭ said Mr Khodaiji.
He added that the trust is also looking for funds, even as a corpus being generated internally. тАЬWe are appealing everybody, individuals or institutions with large hearts. Everything will be transparent with every donor getting to know where money is being spent,тАЭ he said.
