Mumbai, April 17: Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has directed the administration of King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Parel, to strengthen healthcare delivery through effective implementation of the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) and expansion of advanced medical facilities.

Bhide visited the hospital on Friday—her first visit after taking charge as Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. During the visit, she emphasised the need for a technology-driven, patient-friendly system to ensure quicker access to treatment and government healthcare schemes. She instructed department heads to actively use HMIS dashboards for monitoring patient data, medical reports, and service delivery.

Reviewing ongoing projects and infrastructure upgrades, Bhide stressed the importance of enhancing hospital capacity, including increasing bed strength and upgrading facilities across departments. She also called for better integration of central and state health schemes to ensure timely benefits for patients.

A key highlight of the visit was the proposal to introduce multi-specialty robotic surgery facilities through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

She also suggested co-locating critical services such as operation theatres and diagnostic labs to reduce patient waiting time, and exploring underground spaces for housing heavy equipment like MRI and CT scan machines.

To address the growing patient load at KEM Hospital, Bhide directed officials to strengthen nearby healthcare centres and suburban hospitals so they can handle primary care cases. This, she said, would help ease pressure on major hospitals and enable them to focus on critical treatments.

She further recommended reviving a patient referral linkage system between major and suburban hospitals to ensure better distribution of cases and more efficient healthcare delivery across Mumbai.

The review meeting was attended by senior officials, including Deputy Commissioner (Public Health) Sharad Ughade and Dean Dr Sangeeta Rawat, along with heads of various departments.

Western Railway has announced a significant disruption in train services due to a major engineering block between Palghar and Umroli. The block has been undertaken for girder delaunching work, a crucial part of infrastructure upgrades aimed at improving rail safety and capacity.

The advisory has warned passengers of cancellations, short terminations, and regulated train movements over the affected period.

Among the most impacted are suburban services. The Dahanu Road to Virar slow local has been cancelled, while the Surat to Virar MEMU service will be short terminated at Dahanu Road.

On the down line, both Virar to Dahanu Road slow local and MEMU services have been cancelled, affecting daily commuters who rely heavily on these routes.

Several long distance trains will also experience delays due to regulation. Services such as the Bandra Terminus to Barauni Avadh Express and Borivali to Nandurbar Express are expected to run behind schedule.

Other trains, including the Mumbai Central to Hapa Duronto Express, Mumbai Central to Indore Duronto Express, and Bandra Terminus to Jamnagar Humsafar Express, will see delays ranging from 20 to 55 minutes.

Additional services like the Dadar to Bhusaval Khandesh Express and Bandra Terminus to Haridwar Express will also be regulated, further impacting passengers.

Passengers have been advised to check updated train timings and schedules before starting their journey. Railway authorities have urged travellers to plan accordingly to avoid last minute inconvenience.

The ongoing work, while disruptive in the short term, is expected to strengthen railway infrastructure and improve long term operations on the busy Western Railway corridor.

In the current situation, when the Muslims of Palestine, Gaza and Lebanon are suffering from severe oppression and the entire Muslim Ummah is in turmoil and anguish, organizing such a program would certainly hurt the feelings of the Ummah. The Saudi government’s stopping the program in Jeddah is a positive step that is commendable. It should be noted that two days ago, the Raza Academy had issued a press statement against this program.

The officials of the Raza Academy said that the land of the Two Holy Mosques is a center of devotion and respect for Muslims all over the world, therefore it is very important to avoid such measures there that are contrary to religious and moral values.

The statement further said: “We hope that the Saudi government will continue to avoid all such programs that hurt religious sensitivities in any way, taking into account the feelings of the Muslim Ummah, Islamic traditions and the current global situation.”

Finally, the President of the Raza Academy, Alhaji Muhammad Saeed Nouri, expressed his happiness over the decision of the Saudi government.