“Not sustainable”

"There has been a marginal reduction in operating deficit of the Hospital that is from Rs 9,36,62,000 during the previous year to Rs 9,31,25,000 during the year 2010-11,” stated the 98th annual report of the Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit Parsee General Hospital (BDPPGH) dated September 11, 2011. "Despite increase in prices on all fronts, the hospital has successfully controlled its expenditure and marginally reduced the loss by Rs 5,37,000. There has been a significant increase of 14 percent in paying patient bed days. However, the average length of stay of free patients has been almost three times the average length of stay of paying patients,” noted the joint honorary secretaries, Hector Mehta and Zarir Bhathena.

Total expenditure for the year was over Rs 21,45,17,632 ($ 429,035,264) as versus around almost Rs 19 crores in the previous year. Income for the year was Rs 12,13,92,900 plus donations in aid received of Rs 64,94,613 and return on investments Rs 4,11,95,830. The net loss after allowing for all incomes was Rs 4,54,34,289. Total donations received during the year were Rs 2,21,47,000 as compared to Rs 2,96,48,000 in the previous year.

The "increasing operating deficit over the last five years or so is not sustainable. Hence there is a need to take a hard look at the economics of running our hospital objectively,” state the honorary secretaries.

An in-house sub station "is in the final stages of completion and once operational will help to cut down the exorbitant electricity charges.”

B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital: dealing with deficit

The total number of bed days increased from 56,146 to 57,622 in the current year. The number of paying bed days increased from 22,834 to 26,046. The number of free bed days decreased from 30,775 to 28,972. The subsidized bed days however increased from 2,525 to 2,604. The average length of the stay of the patient is 18.31 days as versus 19.06 in the previous year. The number of patients treated increased to 3,147 from 2,946 previously. The number of births decreased from 42 to 31 while the number of deaths increased from 233 to 269. The number of males admitted was 1,487 and females and 1,626.

The Hospital management is examining the possibility of a cosmopolitan, super speciality hospital on the grounds to augment the income and to subsidize the existing hospital. Talks are on with various hospital conglomerates around the world. Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) chairman Dinshaw Mehta has urged the management to push ahead with the scheme, unlike in the case of the Parsi Lying-in Hospital (PLIH) where he and his co-trustees have spurned a proposal to construct a super specialty orthopaedic hospital. The BPP are the owners of the BDPPGH and PLIH properties.

While thanking all their donors the management looked "forward to (their) continued support during the forthcoming year.”