Mumbai: Amidst the controversy over rats biting critically ill patients in the female ward of the BMC-run Cooper Hospital, several measures were announced on Thursday, including the establishment of a free chemotherapy ward at the Juhu facility.Cooper Hospital, now the fourth medical college operated by BMC, received funding to start the five-bed chemotherapy ward within three months. A tender to increase the number of beds in the medical intensive care unit is underway, and the procurement process for a new MRI machine has reached the rate analysis stage.Cooper Hospital will receive additional resources as has now been accorded the status of a major hospital and medical college. To address the shortage of staff, BMC decided to extend the tenure of contractual employees and increase OPD timings. These announcements were made after a meeting between Mumbai BJP President and Andheri (W) MLA Ameet Satam and BMC’s deputy municipal commissioner Sharad Ughade, medical education director Dr Neelam Andrade, and Cooper Hospital’s supervising authority Dr Shailesh Mohite.A contractor has been hired to tackle the rat menace, said Dr Mohite. “Over 60 rats were trapped in the first few days, and we have instructed patients to keep food items in cabins assigned to them,” he added.Satam said that false ceilings and ducts would be immediately repaired, and rat guards will be installed over drain pipes to curb the rat menace. “A show-cause notice and penalty have already been initiated against the existing housekeeping contractor. Since the contract expires in Dec, the next tender will include stringent conditions to ensure quality services,” he added.
