Patients visiting the Indira Gandhi Upahzila Hospital in Bhiwandi for various surgical procedures are left in the lurch and forced to travel either to Thane Municipal Corporation-run civic hospital or other government hospitals in Mumbai, due to a lack of surgeons for several months.

To enhance medical services for the citizens of Bhiwandi, Wada, Padgha, and Vajreshwari, a 200-bed hospital was established and designated as an Upahzila Hospital.

However, the facility has consistently struggled with a shortage of specialist doctors. Despite repeated appeals from public representatives and social workers, the hospital has been unable to retain qualified medical staff.

While some doctors have been appointed, many have either not reported for duty or have left after transferring to other locations.

Currently, the hospital lacks surgeons, gynaecologists, and physicians, leaving citizens with no choice but to seek expensive treatment at private hospitals.

A recent incident highlighted the dire consequences of this shortage. Ayyaz Razzak Shemle, a 20-year-old bike rider, suffered severe injuries in an accident near Kasba Dhaba on the Mumbai-Nashik highway. Tragically, he died before reaching Sion Hospital, raising concerns that timely treatment at the Indira Gandhi Hospital could have saved his life. The Mumbai-Nashik highway, which runs close to Bhiwandi, is notorious for accidents, and the lack of immediate medical care has resulted in preventable fatalities.

Local residents have been voicing the issue and have been urging the government to appoint administrative officers, surgeons, gynaecologists, and physicians to the hospital to address this critical healthcare gap.

Speaking about the issue, Dr. Ansari Mohammad Izhar, Medical Officer, Indira Gandhi Upazila Hospital, Bhiwandi said, “Indira Gandhi Hospital in Bhiwandi falls under the Civil Hospital in Thane, and we have consistently submitted written requests for administrative officers, surgeons, gynaecologists, and physicians. Unfortunately, no doctors are currently present here, causing citizens to suffer significantly. We are making efforts at the administrative level to bring doctors to the facility”.