Turbhe’s MCH Labour Ward Non-Functional for Over a Year, Pregnant Women Referred Elsewhere

Navi Mumbai: The Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) in Turbhe under the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has faced a prolonged closure of its labour ward for over a year due to a severe shortage of staff and doctors. Although the hospital runs a functional OPD with a gynecologist providing checkups, sonography, and blood tests, deliveries have been halted. Pregnant women are being referred to Vashi General Hospital or Nerul MCH, with ambulance support from the corporation.

According to an NMMC health department official, the hospital requires three additional doctors and more staff to restart its labour ward. Despite assurances that recruitment is underway, the facility remains inactive, leaving local residents frustrated.

The issue isn't new. Declared dilapidated in 2011, the hospital underwent repairs and reopened in 2020 as an OPD. Briefly operational as a Mother and Child Hospital in 2021, the labour ward has since remained shut.

Former corporator Raju Shinde criticized the NMMC, stating, “The corporation is wasting crores on unnecessary projects instead of focusing on neglected healthcare needs.”