INHS Asvini, the naval hospital in South Mumbai, has emerged as the second best command hospital, behind Army’s command hospital in Kolkata.
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar presented the Raksha Mantri Trophy, instituted by the Ministry of Defence, to Surgeon Rear Admiral AA Pawar, commanding officer of INHS Asvini, at the South Block in New Delhi on Thursday.
In 2015, a multidisciplinary team set up by the Ministry of Defence had visited all Command Hospitals of the three Services and undertook a thorough assessment of the facilities available and the quality of tertiary care provided by them.
INHS Asvini had won the Best Command Hospital trophy in 2005, 2010, and 2012 and emerged runner’s up in 2013. It is the country’s first naval hospital, set up in 1756 in the barracks as King’s Seamen Hospital. On September 18, 1951 the military hospital was commissioned into the Navy and christened as INHS Asvini.
With the growing need of greater patient care facilities and trained staff for the Navy hospital, a Sick Berth School was established in July 1954. A Dental Centre came up in 1961, followed by a Probationer Nurses School in 1963. The bed strength of INHS Asvini increased from 300 to 600 (1966), to 825 (1977), when it was classified as Command Hospital. In 1996, it was modernised. It now has 22 ICU beds and super-speciality centres.
