SevenHills hospital has been the center of a great deal of controversy from the time of its inauguration nearly 2 years back. Let me, with my limited knowledge, give a perspective of the hospital. I stay in Andheri and I have frequented the hospital and should know something about it. Firstly, let me enumerate some of the good aspects: 1. It has good facilities in its diagnostic services. 2. It had a very good team of doctors and other professionals at least when it started. There still are a few doctors who are considered highly. 3. The building is quite impressive and the landscaping is good. Having underground parking is a great plus in a city like Mumbai. 4. It runs a BMC OPD in the mornings.
Let me come to the negative aspects:
The hospital continues to have problems with the BMC even 2 years down the line. Whatever be the fault of the BMC, it is commen sense that the hospital management should have known before hand what they are getting into. One does not build a hospital and then sign the MOU. The final MOU should be signed first.
The claim of the hospital that it’s the ‘best in Mumbai’ is false and without any basis.
The claim that it is one of the largest in Asia is also wrong. At present there may be about 100 beds which are functional. Wrong advertising should also be punisable because it misleads.
The hospital, in its official website fails to mention that it is occupying Govt. land, which belongs to the people of Mumbai and all sections of it, the rich as well as the poor. In fact the BMC was to construct a cancer hospital in this place. A building was built for this purpose but this was demolished and the present structure built in its place.
A very large number of Consultant doctors have left the hospital. This includes several doctors of high standing, not only in Mumbai but also nationally and internationally. Nobody joins a hospital with the intension of leaving it in a few months. If more than 50 Consultants have left, it reflects badly on the management.
Some of the consultants have not even been paid their financial dues on leaving the hospital. These consultants do not want to take legal recourse because of the time and money involved. On the part of the management, it is clearly a misuse of power in addittion to it being a very cheap action.
Several CEO’s and Vice President’s have also left the hospital. This again reflects very poorly on the hospital management.
The hospital seems to be practising ‘defensive medicine’. As a result, when a patient goes to the hospital’s Emergency Dept. a whole battery of tests are done which often costs thousands of rupees. That is something which most citizens cannot afford. Medical treatment has to be tailored to local conditions. Aping the West is not necessarily good medicine.
The claim that the hospital is ‘paperless’ is also false in many situations. In fact there is often a duplication of work because data has to be entered into the computer in addition to orders being conveyed through paper. Moreover, there is often a delay in patient care because of computerisation.
It also tends to infringe onto the time tested patient-doctor relationship. 10. There are reports in the press about the hospital having links with dubious personalities. As written in Mumbai Mirror (27/7/2010): “ Pune-based builder Avinash Bhosale, in trouble over his controversial land deal in Navi Mumbai, seems headed into a fresh row. Less than a week after it was reported that Bhosale made Rs 275 crore by selling half of a plot he was allotted in Navi Mumbai by CIDCO to build a hotel, it has emerged that he owns a stake in Andheri’s ultra-luxury Seven Hills Hospital, which is under attack for violating its terms of agreement with the BMC. When Mumbai Mirror contacted Bhosale, he admitted to his association with Seven Hills Hospital, but said he has now pulled out of the partnership. BMC’s standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale, however, said that as per the corporation’s records Bhosale is still associated with Seven Hills. A BMC source said Bhosale played an important role in setting up Seven Hills Hospital. “The agreement with the BMC has been signed by Seven Hills Hospital Limited and Soma Enterprise Ltd, which is owned by Avinash Bhosale, ” he said. “We will not let BMC be taken for a ride like CIDCO has been, ” Shewale said.
The hospital clearly has a long way to go.