Need a doctor? You will find one at Dadar station

The Medical Room will begin operations this Friday

Patients for whom hefty consultation fees at private hospitals are often a deterrent can now head to the Dadar railway station as a team of doctors from Lilavati Hospital will be available here, beginning Friday. In a tie-up between the Central Railway and the trust-run Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, a round-the-clock Emergency Medical Room will operate at the station with specialist doctors being available between 8 am and 5 pm every day.

The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates will be applicable to the patients seeking treatment here. However, accident victims with valid railway tickets will be provided treatment free-of-cost at the centre.

"The station master will have to provide a memo to the doctor at the centre, following which the treatment will be given," said a senior authority at the Lilavati hospital. The OPD charges for an expert doctor's consultation here would be around Rs 400, and their availability will be conveyed through a display of their names on the monitor set up in front of the centre. "The centre will begin operations on Friday, the birth anniversary of Lilavati's founder Kirtilal Manilal Mehta," said the hospital's vice-president Ajaykumar Pande.

Along with consultation, basic diagnostic tests too would be conducted here at CGHS rates. "Specialised tests would, however, be done according to the hospital's rates," said Pandey.

Patients would not be forced to take further treatment at the Lilavati hospital though. "If the patient needs treatment, it would be provided at the centre itself, and if need be, sent to a nearby hospital, unless the patient is keen on going to Lilavati."

The centre was earlier used as the One Rupee Clinic that shut last year. It has now been equipped with beds, ECG machines, and other medical equipment, and will cost around Rs 4 lakh every month for maintenance including staff salaries.

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