Cooper Hospital to get new acting Dean after doctors' assault
Violence Against Doctors
Mumbai: BMC-run Dr R.N Cooper Hospital is set to appoint a new acting dean within the next week, marking the second such change in recent months. The decision comes in the wake of the assault on three duty doctors in the hospital’s casualty department last week.
The leadership reshuffle was finalised during a meeting between civic officials and cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Wednesday. Dr Neelam Andrade, who heads BYL Nair Dental Hospital and was earlier appointed acting dean, said, "We will be appointing someone who will be able to attend to Cooper Hospital full-time."
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in another shocking incident of violence against medical professionals, a Casualty Medical Officer, a resident doctor from the Medicine department, and an intern doctor of Dr R.N. Cooper Municipal General Hospital were allegedly assaulted inside the casualty ward while on duty by the relatives of a deceased patient.
According to The Times of India, the hospital cannot appoint a permanent dean due to an ongoing probe against former dean Dr. Sudhir Medhekar, who faces allegations of irregularities in multipurpose worker contracts. Dr. Medhekar has denied the charges, claiming he is being targeted for exposing corruption within the health department. He currently serves as the academic dean without administrative authority.
The decision to appoint a new acting dean came after Minister Lodha inspected KEM Hospital on Monday, where he criticised delays in essential services such as MRI access, long outpatient queues, and the lack of an online registration system.
These problems have remained permanent in all four BMC-run medical college hospitals in recent years, as there has been a marked scarcity of workforce. Though Lodha paid a visit, senior doctors at the hospital claimed that the real challenges the facility faces have not been addressed. While Lodha did not address all the questions after the meeting, MLA Ameet Satam said the steps will be taken to resolve the issues of shortage of medicines at KEM Hospital within 15 days. A senior BMC official said all hospitals have the authority to make local purchases as per their requirements, reports the daily. Moreover, 10 new registration centres will be established at KEM Hospital for smoothly completing the registration process.
