Thane mental hospital to transfer over 170 patients to Pune, Ratnagiri

MUMBAI: Over 170 patients from the Thane mental hospital will be temporarily shifted to the Pune and Ratnagiri mental hospitals as part of the hospital land is being carved out for construction of the proposed Kopri railway station.

Hospital authorities said the municipal corporation will construct new wards for these patients, but for the time being they will be shifted to other mental hospitals in the state.

The 1,850-bed Thane mental hospital currently has 1,177 patients.


"We are going to shift around 173 female patients out of which we have already transferred 30 patients to Yerwada mental hospital on Monday. We will shift around 50 inmates to Ratnagiri and the rest to Pune. This is a temporary arrangement for around six months to a year. These inmates do not suffer from serious mental illness. Most of them have stayed for long as their families have refused to accept them. They just need medicines and counselling," said Dr. Sanjay Bodade, superintendent, Thane hospital.

The Pune mental hospital authorities stated they have adequate space, but they are low on staff and have asked for more manpower.

"We are a 2,540-bed hospital and currently cater to around 1,218 inmates. But we have only two psychiatrists; eight posts are vacant. We need additional attendants, social workers, nursing staff etc. We have asked Thane mental hospital to depute their employees," said Dr. Abhijeet Phadnis, hospital superintendent.

The Ratnagiri hospital, meanwhile, has not yet received any letter from the authorities about the move. "We have heard about the shifting but haven't received any official letter so far. If we have to cater to so many inmates then we will request the authorities to fill posts as staff is low and nearly 56 posts are vacant. This includes three posts of psychiatrist, one dietician and one occupational therapist," said Dr. Sanjay Kalkutgi, administrative officer at Ratnagiri mental hospital.