Mumbai: From next week, get a private bed at KEM hospital

The ward for the private Inpatient Department will have 20 beds. File pic

The BMC-run KEM Hospital will have a private Inpatient Department (IPD) from next week. So if a patient seeks treatment from a specialist and experienced doctor of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for a reasonable cost, he/she will be able to avail of the services at the hospital.

Besides Mumbai, patients to BMC-run hospitals come from Palghar, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Raigad, and other districts. Many also come from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

An official from the hospital said, "Many people are ready to pay for treatment from the specialised and experienced doctors of the BMC. We have also received suggestions regarding this from citizens. So the BMC decided to start a private IPD from next week. It will be like Tata and Wadia hospitals, which have an option for both paid treatment and treatment for a nominal cost (under a trust). If the initiative gets a good response from people, then such IPDs will be started in other civic-run hospitals." Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani, said, "From next week the paid IPD at KEM will be in a separate ward with 20 beds, of which two beds will be for the ICU. The per-day charge of a bed will be around R500 and for further investigation patients will be charged a nominal amount, which will be less compared to private hospitals. But we are still discussing the rates." He added, "This service will not affect the free service. Through the private IPD, people's trust will increase in municipal hospitals and we will also help further strengthen the health infrastructure."

There are around 2,250 beds in KEM Hospital and on average 167 patients were admitted on a daily basis in 2021. A total of 60,861 patients were admitted to the hospital.

2,250
No. of total beds at KEM Hospital