While many measures have been taken to improve patient care at public hospitals, tiffs between various authorities undermine such efforts. A recent example of this is the ongoing legal battle, which has reached Supreme Court, between the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital, commonly known as Sion Hospital, and the Paraplegic Foundation, which has resulted in the latter not admitting patients since 2021.

“First, the pandemic and now this court case... At present, only 25 former patients who have been a part of our vocational training programme are currently making bed pads [which are sold to hospitals or individuals to raise funds] on our Sion Hospital premises. We discharged the last group of 26 patients in 2021. We treated them during the pandemic as well because completing their treatment was important,” said Dr Bhagyesh V Lad, administrative officer of the foundation, which has been operating from the Old Barracks on Sion Hospital’s premises since 1990.