Sep 28, 2008 10:37 PM
19136 Views
(Updated Sep 28, 2008 10:42 PM)
Intrduction
Bombay, nay Mumbai, has many private hospitals. To name a few-Bombay Hospital, Marine Lines; Nanavati, Vile Parle; JASLOK, Peddar Road 9(renamed as B.G. Deshmukh Road); Leelavati, Bandra; Hiduja, Mahim; Wockhart, (specially for heart ailments), Mulund and so on.
Besides, there are also many Municipal and Govt. hospitals to name the big ones: JJ Hospital, Nair Hospital, St George Hospital, KEM Hospital, Lokmaya Tilak Hospital popularly known as Sion Hospital and many smaller ones. There is also Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), primarily for the treatment of Cancer. Private Hospitals in Mumbai are well equipped and well managed. Usually the facilities are top class.
The beginning
JASLOK Hospital was founded by some philanthropists way back in the late sixties and early seventies. Seth Lokoomal Chanrai conceived of setting up an ultra modern hospital to serve people of every class. His wife Jasotibai joined him and a combination of the two names JAS (of Jasotibai) and LOK of Lokoomal which also means welfare of the people, gave the name JASLOK. Dr Shantilal Mehta, a very prominent physician of that time was given the responsibility of overseeing the rise of the hospital. I was working in the radiological protection department of BARC at that time and visited the site with my boss to see the radiation treatment facilities and the installations. These were supposed to be approved by our Department. I recall Dr Mehta telling that the hospital rooms have to be like that of a 5* hotel plus other facilities. To that end he had invited three well known interior decorators to set up a room each for him to select one. These had been done at the time of our visit and we were shown the rooms. The Hospital was inaugurated by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in July 1973.
Connection
I am a retired scientist from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). BARC has its own hospital but does not have all the facilities. So they have tied up with different hospitals and refer patients to doctors there and also to some specialists, for example skin, eye, etc. I have been to JASLOK for seeing some of my friends when they were admitted. My wife was taking treatment from a chest specialist at JASLOK as an outpatient there. Then one day suddenly she had pain in her hands and chest. The usual route of our dispensary and then hospital was taken. Once in the hospital she had to be admitted and moved to the ICCU. I have read the two posts on this hospital on MS. Unfortunately their experience were not very good. Needless to say that the hospital is highly patronized and is always crowded. I believe this hospital is good and takes good care of the patients and charges are perhaps not exorbitant. I give below some information about the hospital.
Departments
The Hospital has almost all the departments that a well equipped hospital should have.
Cardiology Department
It is well equipped to provide best possible cardiac care. It has modern facilities for diagnosis, testing and treatment (cardiovascular Laboratories). Among others the Department includes Paediatric Cardiology, Non-Invasive Cardiology, Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery Department, Peripheral Vascular Interventions and so on. Angiography and angioplasty are routinely carried out. There is an ICCU room where the patents are first kept before the investigation and the operation are carried out. Many of our friends have undergone bye-pass surgery there for treatment of multiple arterial blockages. Some of our friends have undergone this treatment and we have seen them then and afterwards. They are fine and have no complaints.
My wife was referred by our hospital (BARC) for angiography. She had to wait for to days as she was admitted on Saturday evening. Waiting patients are kept in ICCU and for the accompanying relative (a must) they have provided some sort of sleeping facility on the 20th floor. They charge Rs. 300.00 per day for this facility and take advance for 5 days. I needed this for 2 days and so the balance was returned without any hassle after some formalities. In the angiography test the doctor found one artery completely blocked and so angioplasty needed to be done immediately. He contacted our hospital got their OK and carried out angioplasty. He had to insert two stents in the artery. She was shifted to a room after the angioplasty. In between so many other tests, like Neurophysiology, and others were done. After discharge from the Jaslok Hospital she was kept in the BARC hospital for a couple of days before being discharged. All in all, our experience with hospital is good.
Chest Medicine Department
It has specialized equipment for various tests like pulmonary function tests, dermal allergen tests, sleep disorder tests, fibre-optic bronchoscopy, athletic fitness and so on. My wife had some breathing problem. She was referred to the chest specialist and detailed examination of her lungs after different tests, like CT scan, spirometry, etc. showed depositions in her lungs. The doctor recommended lung biopsy to find out the exact nature of lung deposition. Initially, not knowing the details, we agreed. But on understanding what was involved we requested the doctor to start treatment without the complicated biopsy. With some insistence he agreed. The treatment has been going on for quite sometime now. The treatment involves essentially taking steroids and other medicines to mitigate the effects. She is improving and the quantum of dose has been reduced. The chest specialist doctor we find is very good, considerate and caring. This is so for, I guess, all departments at the hospital.
Assisted Reproduction and Genetics department
This department has been a pioneer in assisted reproduction and has very many facilities. The department has many firsts to its credit.
