Fear, not funds, keeps doctors away from Sewri TB Hospital's IRCU

Hindustan Times

24-05-2025

Mumbai: Despite monthly salaries of up to ₹2 lakh on offer, Mumbai's premier TB facility struggles to staff its critical care unit as doctors shy away from the high-risk environment.
More than a year after it was built, the Intensivist Respiratory Care Unit (IRCU) at Mumbai's Sewri TB Hospital lies largely idle—not for lack of funds or infrastructure, but due to a more insidious obstacle: fear.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has offered salaries ranging from ₹1.25 lakh to ₹2 lakh per month—well above average for public-sector intensivists—to staff the IRCU. Yet, despite three rounds of recruitment since 2024, the city's largest TB hospital has failed to fill these critical positions.
'It isn't about the money,' admitted a senior BMC health official on condition of anonymity. 'Doctors are simply hesitant to work in a TB hospital. There is a fear of infection, although with proper diet and adherence to protocols, the risk is minimal.'
That fear, however, is far from unfounded. Since 2000, more than 160 staffers at Sewri TB Hospital have contracted tuberculosis while on duty. At least 75 have died—an unsettling statistic that continues to cast a long shadow over the facility's recruitment efforts.
The 1,000-bed hospital, which sees 55,000 to 60,000 TB cases annually—the highest in Maharashtra—had long lacked a dedicated ICU. Critical patients with respiratory failure were routinely referred to already-overburdened tertiary hospitals such as JJ, Sion, and KEM, often sending families into a desperate scramble for ICU beds.
To alleviate this pressure, the IRCU was commissioned and became operationally ready in February 2024. But it remains underutilised. Of the three intensivists needed to run the unit at full capacity, only one is currently in place—supported by a skeletal team in the hospital's older, three-bed ICU.
Two doctors were hired last October following earlier recruitment drives, but one resigned within three months citing personal reasons. A fresh advertisement was issued again this May, seeking three intensivists. The response has once again been tepid.
The salary structure BMC is offering is generous- ₹1.25 lakh for those with at least one year of post-graduate experience, scaling up to ₹2 lakh for doctors with over eight years of experience. Yet, the danger posed by high exposure to drug-resistant TB strains continues to deter applicants.
Hospital officials stress that while the IRCU lacks staff, the overall medical team is not short-handed. 'We currently have one intensivist and one anaesthetist, five chest physicians, four MOIs, 21 deputed doctors, and 16 BMC-appointed medical officers,' said a senior official. 'Most of them have specialised training or postgraduate diplomas.'
Still, the situation is far from ideal. The old ICU admits around 20 to 30 patients each month. Without the new IRCU fully functional, the hospital cannot meet the rising demand for respiratory critical care.
An internal source suggested that long-term solutions lie in structural reforms rather than short-term recruitment drives. 'In 2019, we managed to perform major surgeries with ICU doctors earning ₹75,000 and support from honorary consultants. What we lack now is administrative will,' the source said. 'Introducing DNB and diploma courses would attract junior doctors and senior faculty alike, building a pipeline of expertise and finally allowing this hospital to deliver the critical care our patients desperately need.'