Mumbai: Contractor Blacklisted After Abrupt ICU Shutdown; Only 10 Beds Functional At Jogeshwari's Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Hospital

Mumbai: The Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Hospital in Jogeshwari continues to struggle with critical care facilities after its contracted operator, Max Care Hospital, abruptly shut down intensive care unit (ICU) services earlier this year.

The company has now been blacklisted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), but only 10 out of the hospital’s 22 ICU beds are functional at present.

The 22-bed ICU was developed in phases—12 beds were transferred from the now-closed Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon in 2019, and another 10 beds were added in 2022. Both facilities were entrusted to Maxcare for management under contract.

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However, the company repeatedly failed to maintain services, with complaints ranging from doctors being absent on duty to abruptly suspending operations without notice. A warning notice was issued to the operator in June 2023, but negligence continued.

Despite these lapses, the BMC extended Maxcare’s contract in September 2024. Despite the extension, the company suddenly ceased operations citing pending dues, without prior notice to the hospital administration. The move sparked outrage, with local MLA Anant Nar demanding immediate termination of the contract and a full-scale inquiry into the lapses.

Sources revealed that then senior civic official, who approved the extension, was unaware of the operator’s repeated failures as hospital officials allegedly concealed the lapses. The cover-up resulted in the company again shutting down services in March this year, leaving patients in distress.

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Currently, the hospital is managing a 10-bed ICU with the support of doctors deputed from Cooper Medical College and Hospital. The 12-bed unit remains closed. According to a senior doctor, three junior doctors and two senior doctors from Cooper are running the operational ICU.

The controversy has once again highlighted lapses in accountability and monitoring within Mumbai’s civic-run hospitals, raising questions about the selection and supervision of private contractors for critical health services.