Ambulance delays after Elphinstone Bridge closure put patients at risk

Most ambulance drivers have had to take alternate, longer routes through Lower Parel or Dadar to reach hospitals in Parel, such as KEM Hospital, Tata Memorial Hospital, and Gleneagles Hospital.

Mumbai: Traffic snarls in and around central Mumbai following the closure of the Elphinstone Bridge on September 12 have led to a serious concern—ambulances ferrying critical patients to the many hospitals located near the bridge are getting delayed.

Mumbai, India – 15, Sept 2025: Massive traffic congestion was witnessed at Lower Parel and Curry Road after traffic was diverted due to the closure of Elphinstone Bridge for reconstruction, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, Sept 15, 2025. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Most ambulance drivers have had to take alternate, longer routes through Lower Parel or Dadar to reach hospitals in Parel, such as KEM Hospital, Tata Memorial Hospital, and Gleneagles Hospital. On Monday, heavy rain and waterlogged roads exacerbated the problem, leaving ambulances stuck in traffic for hours.

Asif Shah from Shah Ambulance Service told HT, “As patients turn serious, relatives start yelling at us to rush faster to the hospital. But the problem is traffic. The bridge closure has forced us to take longer routes through congested roads.”

Shah recounted an incident on Sunday when he had to ferry a critical patient from Sion to KEM Hospital via the Eastern Express Highway. “It usually would take 15 minutes for us to get there, but the traffic we faced once we got to Parel increased by 40 minutes. The patient died once they reached the hospital.”

Drivers also complained of the lack of traffic management at the junctions near the bridge. “Even if the police let us through, there is hardly any space for us to get out. There has been no planning for emergency services here,” said Shah.

Ambulances are also being forced to take longer routes via Dadar and Mahim, with travel times crossing an hour during peak hours. Aakash Sharma from Ambucare, which transports cardiac patients, said, “There is a lot of traffic regularly as well. However, with the bridge closure, it has become so much worse. Because of the patient’s condition, we cannot afford to be stuck in traffic. The families pressure us and yell at us to go faster, but there is no way out. Patients with cardiac problems and accident cases cannot afford such delays. We have not received any help from the authorities on the road.”

Patients who travel far and wide to reach public hospitals seeking affordable treatment bear the brunt of this burden. In one such case, a 60-year-old woman, whose family requested anonymity, had to travel nearly three hours from Bhandup to KEM Hospital to treat her kidney stones and severe kidney pain on Monday.

The family had first approached a private hospital in Bhandup for her treatment five days ago. The woman, who is a diabetic, was told to get a few tests done, which proved to be expensive, after which the family was referred to the civic-run KEM Hospital.

The woman was rushed to KEM Hospital at 8 am on Monday after her pain increased. “She had not eaten in 10 days and was only surviving on liquids. The medicines she was given for the time being were also not helping her. She was in so much pain that she was vomiting all morning and ended up dehydrated and almost unconscious. We tried to look for an ambulance, but we did not get the services in time, so her husband and her son got her to KEM in a taxi,” said the woman’s brother-in-law.

However, the taxi got stuck in traffic on the Eastern Express Highway and then near the Elphinstone Bridge, which forced the family to take alternative routes. “What would usually take us an hour, at most, took us three hours today because of the bridge closure. Her condition only worsened in the taxi, and she was almost unconscious when she got to the hospital. She even pleaded with us not to take her back and let her stay admitted in the hospital, to avoid the journey and pain. It was horrible, and no one helped us,” added the woman’s brother-in-law.

Several patients at KEM hospital also complained of the bridge closure, saying that the digging work near the bridge also blocked roads used by ambulances. Sangeet Ravat, dean of KEM Hospital, claimed that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) did not inform the hospital about the bridge’s closure, leaving them unprepared.

“MMRDA did not inform us of this closure, and it was so sudden. How were we to prepare for this? The traffic police and MMRDA must ensure that the ambulances get through without any issue. For now, we have informed the traffic authorities to clear the road in front of the hospital of any unnecessary parked vehicles in order to give more space for ambulances,” said Ravat.

A patient at Gleneagles Hospital, who requested anonymity, said, “The authorities must do what is necessary to ensure better infrastructure. However, they must also plan it accordingly to ensure there is no disruption of such essential services. They are doing this at the cost of patient lives. I live only minutes away, but we have had to get through from Lower Parel and farther routes, increasing the time to almost 30 minutes, just for a routine checkup.”

On Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray wrote to Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti and the traffic police seeking an increase in traffic police personnel in central Mumbai following the closure of Elphinstone Bridge.

“MMRDA has closed the Elphinstone Flyover, which will lead to significant traffic congestion in the surrounding areas. Furthermore, the ongoing incomplete work on the Sion Bridge and Lokmanya Tilak Bridge may cause further inconvenience. While I am aware of the immense pressure already faced by the Mumbai Police, I request that you deploy more traffic police personnel on important east-west connecting routes, especially in the areas of Mahim, Dadar, Worli, and Sewri. Otherwise, due to the lack of planning and coordination between MMRDA and the Municipal Corporation, the traffic situation for Mumbaikars will become extremely severe,” his letter said.

Anil Kumbhare, joint commissioner of police (traffic), said that the MMRDA has parked ambulances equipped with wheelchairs on both sides of Elphinstone Bridge for patients to reach hospitals.

With inputs from Megha Sood