Hinduja Hospital to inaugurate short stay bed service today

Expanding its daycare services, the P D Hinduja hospital will today officially open its new short stay wing to the public

u00a0

IN THE ROOM: One of the rooms in the short-stay wing at P D Hinduja Hospital. The wing consists of 19 rooms. PIC/ALISHA COELHO

Expanding its daycare services, the P D Hinduja hospital will today officially open its new short stay wing to the public. The wing consists of 19 rooms where patients requiring any of the listed 120 short surgical services, from cataracts to hernia, will be able to check in from 8 am and leave by 10 pm.

However, takers for the new facility have been few even though hospital authorities have been advocating it to patients.

Head of oncology, Dr Asha Kapadia said, "When my mother underwent her cataract operation, she was made to sit in a hard chair for two hours and then sent home. Ideally, there should be something for patients who don't have to stay in the hospital overnight."

Patients' concerns

Pramod Lele, Hinduja CEO, said the idea had been so long in the running because of various issues. "For one, insurers protested that short stay would increase their costs. Patients wondered whether they would get reimbursed if they opted for short stay in place of a room where two days stay is the minimum limit. Moreover some patients working for corporates wondered whether this would be an excuse for companies to slash sick leave. On our front, we had to deal with space constraints, but now that the unit is up and running, we hope the demand for it will pick up," said Lele, admitting that the initial response had been slow.

The new short-stay wing will lessen the load on the 350 beds available in the hospital that are filled most of the time. "This will help us deal with more patients daily. If patients choose to leave in the middle of the day, another can be accommodated for the rest of the time."