B Y L Nair Ch Hospital

If you know Mumbai Central, you know where we are on Dr Anandrao Marg. This is a big public hospital and it feels like it never sleeps. There are always people moving through the hallways, from patients to doctors to people just trying to find their way around. It’s a city within a city really. We see everything here because it’s a place where anyone can come for help. The building has been here for a long time and you can feel that history in the walls and the high ceilings. It’s not like those new private clinics that look like hotels. This is a working hospital where the floors get a lot of wear and tear. The noise of Mumbai Central is always right there outside the gates. We have many departments and it stays crowded from the moment the sun comes up. Doctors are often running from one ward to another. It can be a bit overwhelming for someone visiting for the first time, but there’s a system to it all. We just try to get through the daily list of patients and make sure everyone gets seen. It’s hard work and the days are long, but that’s just how it is in a place like this. We don’t have time for anything that isn't essential to looking after the people who come in.