Malegaon: Malegaon has again set an example where a little bit of out of the box thinking by the local administration has given the City a spectacular medical facility that today takes care of the health of thousands of people at a place where filth and stench once ruled.
“When I first visited the place. I couldn’t stand there for more than a minute but by keeping handkerchief on my nose”, Malegaon Municipal Commissioner Bhalchandra V Gosavi told ummid.com.
It was the time when Malegaon had survived two deadly waves of Covid-19 and the third wave of the Pandemic was looming. Satana Road’s Women and Child Hospital (Mahila v Bal Rugnalaya) and Ali Akbar Hospital were due for a face lift, and plans were afoot to build a new infrastructure of Wadia Hospital.
These developments had left the city with only one government run health facility, Malegaon General Hospital. The Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC) hence wanted to be ready before hand and was searching for a suitable land to establish a make-shift hospital.
It was against this backdrop Gosavi visited the place adjacent to Ravalgaon Naka, located some 500 meters from the ancient Malegaon Church. The place already had a small government run Healthcare Centre on a huge, some 30,000 square feet, government land. However, it was sort of a mess due to the adjoining public toilets left to their own care for years, vegetable vendors, meat sellers, and remaining land dumped with wastes. The PHC wasn’t abandoned but could not be used to its full potential due to poor infrastructure, and above all because of the filthy ambience and foul smells surrounding the area.
“Our search ended here. But the challenge was to shift the public toilet and rehabilitate the vegetable vendors and meat sellers elsewhere”, MMC Commissioner Gosavi said.
A rehabilitation plan and proposal to build a Modular Hospital were soon made available, carrying which Gosavi met local MLA and Minister in the Maharashtra government, Dada Bhuse. Dada Bhuse arranged the government fund and also a valuable contribution from American Indian Foundation, an NGO. The beautiful Modular Hospital was then soon opened for the general public.
“We celebrated one year of the hospital’s successful run in the last month only”, the hospital staff told ummid.com, adding the health facility was inaugurated on June 04, 2022.
What makes the Malegaon Camp’s Modular Hospital unique is despite having a prefabricated structure being built using containers, which can be dismantled in no time and shifted anywhere in an emergency, the premises is a pleasant experience for visitors – in total contrast to what it was a year ago.
In terms of medical facilities, the hospital has 100 beds for IPD patients, full time doctors and medical staff for round the clock OPD, and is also equipped with Operation Theatre, separate Maternity and Pediatric units along with a fully operational Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Laboratory (Path Lab).
A section of the Modular Hospital is also being managed and administered by the staff of Satana Road’s Women and Children Hospital which is currently undergoing face lift and renovation. And the number of patients getting treatment at the PHC has also seen a huge jump.
“As many as 1,11,843 patients, including 36,243 last year and 75,600 till June 15, 2023, have been given treatments for various ailments at Malegaon Camp’s Modular Hospital”, a staffer said sharing the data and records with ummid.com.
During the same period, the hospital also recorded 2,332 admissions and 154 deliveries, the hospital data showed.
The hospital is also a preferred destination for dog bite cases.
“We have treated 1,545 patients who were bitten by stray dogs in the last one year”, the hospital staff said.
The Malegaon Camp's Modular Hospital premises once used as a waste dumping ground now also has a separate parking area for Ambulances and other vehicles.
[The writer, Aleem Faizee, is Founder Editor of ummid.com. He can be reached at aleem.faizee@gmail.com]
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