| MOT (Major Operation Theatre) |
Amongst the busy streets of Parel, Mumbai, a neighbourhood dominated by textile mills and factory outlets, stands an 80 year old heritage structure that speaks of the history of modern medicine in India. The structure built out of stone and teak wood is one of the foremost teaching and medical care providing institutions in India. I am talking about King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital which has been a witness to the transformation of Bombay to Mumbai. The hospital was built in 1926 to cater to the huge increase in immigrants who came to Maharashtra from other parts of the country. KEM hospital which is a Grade II heritage structure was designed by renowned architect George Wittet who also designed other city landmarks including the Gateway of India and the Wadia Maternity Hospital. The building is spread across approximately 5,23,400 sq ft, and comprises two heritage buildings.
Though the hospital buildings have stood strong for several years; over the past few years it had been observed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that the structure needed urgent restoration and revamp. Therefore in 2005, BMC decided to give the hospital a facelift. After conducting many surveys and procedures, a sum of Rs 120 crore was allotted for the entire restoration project and in 2009 the contract was awarded to the Neev Group, a well-known construction and architecture company.
The makeover
Restoring a heritage structure is a challenging task, especially a hospital building that houses around 2000 beds with about 390 staff, physicians and 550 resident doctors, as well as about 1.8 million out-patients and 85,000 in-patients annually. The challenge at hand was to manage the restoration work of the hospital without disturbing patients, visitors and the staff as well as retaining the essence of the heritage structure. Keeping these factors in mind, the whole project was divided into six phases that were initially suppose to span six months; however due to procedural and technical reasons, the time for each phase was extended to one year. Neev has managed to complete Phase 1 and 2, that currently covers around 35 per cent of the property.
| AGSS (Anesthetic Gas Scavenging System | Solar panel installed on the terrace |
Phase 1: Phase 1 comprised restoration of gynaecology building. This building also houses the plastic surgery and paediatric departments. The work on Phase 1 started in December 2009 and was completed in 14 months.
Says, Mayank Madhani – COO, Neev Group, “In the first phase we were able to cover 5.2 million sq ft area that cost us around Rs 29 crore. The work covered under this phase included stone cleaning in which the surface of the stones has to be cleaned and after that line pointing was done which gives an enhanced look to the heritage structure. Various measures were taken during restoration to increase the strength of the structure like the dead loads were reduced, majorly by replacing the RCC tanks with double layered PVC tanks, intense plumbing work was carried out to improve water connections. While working on the project we observed that the medical gas pipeline system prior to commencement of restoration work had many limitations and the air compressor and vacuum pump were of obsolete technology. All the equipment have been replaced with new and improved equipment which are of higher capacity to meet current assessed demand and the anticipated 10 per cent increase in future. The new equipment operates with lower power requirement resulting in power saving and is also low on noise decibels. A backup for every running unit has also been incorporated.”
In order to ensure the well being of the patients and the OT staff members an anaesthesia gas scavenging system (AGSS) has been installed in every OT. New OT Pendant have also been installed to provide faster, safer and more efficient access to medical gases, AGSS and electrical services in the operating room Additionally, solar panels newly installed on the roof of the gynaecology building will be used for water heating purposes and will eventually help in saving electricity. Water cooled chillers are used since this consumes much lesser energy and have higher capacities as compared to the air cooled chillers. So, during the refurbishment special care has been taken to make the hospital more energy efficient. New and improved patient care furniture has also been provided.
Where the interiors are concerned, every ward has been revamped with better flooring, plastering and tiling, painting as well as new beds and patient service furniture. Each and every window has been provided with a mesh that will keep rodents and other insects at bay. Moreover, colours such as beige and off-white are used in the wards to make them more soothing to the eye. But what’s more interesting is the installation of medical gas pipeline in all wards. The purpose of installing this system is to absorb all the medical gases that are emitted within the hospital setting.
Interestingly, the incorporation of this system has also helped in controlling the hospital smell that lingered around earlier. Evidence-based planning of the interiors has also facilitated the hospital to add in nearly 10-15 per cent of beds within the wards.
| Common Ward on 2nd Floor | Pediatric ward |
Phase 2: The second phase consisted of the restoration of Ward 1-Paediatrics, Ward 5 – Surgery, Ward 9 – Medicine, Record Rooms and MOTs. Phase 2 of the project started in June 2011 and was completed in March 2012. Work done in the second phase is almost similar to the first phase. It covered around 1.6 million sq ft areas and cost around Rs 12 crore.
Work in progress
The other phases of the restoration work will take some more time to complete. Probably a couple of years more. Work done so far seems to give a new lease of life to the hospital building with a very fresh look and feel.
In the next phase Neev plans to install GRC domes instead of the conventional domes. GRC domes are lighter in weight, do not corrode and have substantial life. We hope that the Corporation will work towards retaining the same freshness that KEM seems to have today.