Mumbai Hospital Transfer Rules Ignored, Patients Left Stranded Without Ambulances
Even after a full month since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued clear directives requiring peripheral hospitals to take full responsibility for patient transfers and ambulance arrangements, the ground reality in Mumbai remains distressingly unchanged. Medical staff across facilities continue to exploit loopholes in the system, leaving vulnerable patients in precarious situations without proper care or transportation.
Critical Patient Forced into Auto-Rickshaw Journey
The severity of this ongoing crisis was highlighted late Saturday when a semi-conscious 70-year-old man, Prabhakar Bhimrao, suspected to be suffering from bleeding in the brain, was abruptly discharged from MW Desai Hospital without any medical assistance. His son, Jagannath, faced with no alternatives, had to rush his father to Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital in an auto-rickshaw—a completely inadequate mode of transport for such a critical medical emergency.
"We were informed there was an issue with some machines at the hospital. When I requested an ambulance, they simply refused, leaving me with no other options," Jagannath recounted to reporters. He further alleged that MW Desai Hospital failed to provide any case papers for his father, a fact that was subsequently documented in the records at Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital.
Systemic Loopholes and Documentation Tricks
According to established BMC regulations, all patients requiring transfer to another healthcare facility must first be registered as indoor patients, with the initial hospital bearing full responsibility for arranging appropriate ambulance services. However, hospital insiders reveal that staff have developed methods to circumvent these rules.
"The common trick is that there is no ambulance provided without proper case papers, and conveniently, there is often no documentation to prove the patient was ever there. Alternatively, patients or their families are pressured to sign DAMA (Discharge Against Medical Advice) papers," explained a senior staff member from MW Desai Hospital who wished to remain anonymous.
Contractual Doctor Schedules Compromise Patient Care
Hospital sources indicate that these practices are frequently employed to avoid handling complex or heavy medical cases. The root cause appears to be the scheduling arrangements for contractual doctors, who reportedly work two consecutive 24-hour shifts to qualify for six days of leave during the remainder of the week.
"This scheduling pattern is strictly prohibited under hospital guidelines. It creates a situation where doctors are excessively fatigued, directly impacting patient care and safety. Contractual doctors are supposed to work regular eight-hour shifts daily," the senior staffer emphasized, noting that many doctors prioritize this arrangement to allocate more time for their private medical practices.
Inadequate Infrastructure and Leadership Silence
MW Desai Hospital operates with only a handful of permanent doctors, relying heavily on contractual staff. The facility lacks a dedicated casualty department, instead functioning with a combined OPD-casualty unit where emergency cases are managed by the same four ward-level doctors regardless of severity.
Despite multiple attempts to obtain clarification, Dr. Jairaj Acharya, the Medical Superintendent of MW Desai Hospital, remained unavailable for comment. Another doctor within the institution confirmed that these problematic arrangements predate Dr. Acharya's tenure, having been in place even before he assumed his position earlier this year.
The persistent failure to implement BMC's patient transfer mandates reveals deep systemic issues within Mumbai's healthcare infrastructure, where regulatory directives are routinely ignored, putting patients' lives at risk through inadequate emergency response and transportation protocols.
