MUMBAI: Last month, Gajanan Jamge, a 21-year-old nursing student, died after he contracted malaria at his college hostel. The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) estimates that during the monsoon months, more than 150 medical students across the state, including 40-0dd from Mumbai alone, fell sick with malaria, dengue and typhoid. Around 25 doctors at JJ Hospital were admitted to the very hospital where they worked.
Two other nursing students were also hospitalised for malaria.
Those spaces have been lost to accommodate additional patients. At Cooper Hospital, garbage bins line the corridors. A TB clinic is located right next to the entrance of the resident doctors’ hostel, despite objections. “The conditions make it very difficult to study, while hygiene is also a concern. Between the arduous commute and lack of tiffin service in the vicinity, commuting was very challenging. “There used to be extra beds in every ward for doctors to rest between shifts. At Nair Hospital, the hostel is almost 7km from the hospital campus.
JJ Hospital has about 1,075 resident doctors, including 851 broad-speciality residents, 116 bonded students and 108 super-speciality senior residents. “They have to be accommodated in 310 rooms, including 40 rooms for super-speciality seniors. We are short of accommodation for 750 resident students,” said Shah. “The 150 undergraduates have been accommodated in maternity homes-turned-hostels at Versova and Lokhandwala, with functional health services on the ground floor. Another 602 undergraduates are in 100 rooms, six per room, at a hostel in Tata Compound, Vile Parle,” said Dr Vishal Mule, vice-president of MARD, Cooper Hospital. “It was such a bad experience that I simply shifted out and preferred to pay around ₹ 35,000 for rent close to campus.
Trash overflowing from bins is preyed upon by rodents and cats that frequent the hostel premises,” said Vinayak Shah, president of the JJ Hospital unit of MARD. Hospital authorities said it is hard to meet the NMC’s space norms in a space-starved city like Mumbai. A student at Cooper Hospital, put up at the hostel in Versova, said the ten students placed here had classes at 8am. Here, I have breathing space along with facilities like laundry, food and even Wi-Fi,” he said. With long and late hours, returning to the accommodation at night is tough,” said Dr Atharva Shinde, president of central MARD.
He added about 120 students had been accommodated in 45 rooms at GT Hospital but will now have to vacate, as GT needs the space for its own students. For post-graduates, 77 rooms on campus are shared by over 200 students. Shah recalled that a few years ago, his college provided accommodation outside the campus, but the arrangement was shut down over non-payment of dues, forcing students to vacate. At Cooper Hospital, undergraduates are housed outside the campus, forcing them to travel to and from college.
