Cama Hospital

Cama Hospital
Cama & Albless Hospital, back entrance in 2008
Geography
LocationMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Coordinates18°56′32″N 72°49′55″E / 18.942163°N 72.832079°E / 18.942163; 72.832079 (The Madam Cama and Albless Hospital)
Services
Beds367
History
Founded30 July 1886; 140 years ago (1886-07-30)

The Cama & Albless Hospital (originally just Cama Hospital) is a state-run hospital for women and children in the city of Mumbai, India, with 367 beds. Since May 2024, it has offered its Assisted reproductive technology (ART) services for free, making it the first public-run hospital in Maharashtra to do so. It is part of the Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, which includes four hospitals in South Mumbai, including Sir J.J. Hospital, St. George Hospital, Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital. It was one of the targets of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

History

Cama Hospital in 1887

The foundation stone was laid by the Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn on 22 November 1883 and the building formally opened on 30 July 1886. The building was designed in Medieval Gothic style by Khan Bahadoor Muncherjee Cowasjee Murzban. The building was made from stone obtained from Porbandar. Pestonjee Hormusjee Cama, a Parsi philanthropist, contributed ₹100,000 (~₹43 crore in 2020) to its construction. He later provided an additional ₹64,000 towards the cause. The staffing was provided through the Medical Women for India Fund.

Pestonjee Hormusjee Cama, the founder of the Hospital.

At the start, all appointments for doctors were temporary and revised after five years. Edith Pechey, was the first female doctor to join the hospital. She was one of the original cohort of female medical students at the University of Edinburgh (1869). Pechey was the Senior Medical Officer at the hospital from 1886 to 1894. She was the driving force in the establishment of the nurses' training school attached to the hospital. Pechey along with her husband, founded the Pechey-Pimpson Sanatorium for women and children at Nasik Road in 1891.

Charlotte Louisa Elleby, an ophthalmologist with an MD degree from Paris, joined Pechey. Elleby started the eye department in the hospital as well as successfully handled the large number of outpatients for eye-related treatments.

Annette Benson was the head of the hospital for many years.

In 2023, it became the only government hospital in Maharashtra to have a department in Urogynecology, offering fellowships in the field. This was built with a donation from Taj Public Services Welfare Trust.

2008 terror attack

On the night of 26 November 2008, it was a target of a 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists Ismail Khan and Ajmal Kasab, with the intent to kill patients, but their assault was unsuccessful as the hospital staff locked all of the patient wards. Around seven people were killed inside the Cama Hospital, while nine died outside, including several police officers, prominently Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, Senior Inspector Vijay Salaskar, and Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, who died on the spot, while Assistant Commissioner Sadanand Date was injured. Khan was later killed at a shootout near Girgaon Chowpatty, while Kasab was captured and arrested.

During the subsequent investigation and trials, nurse Anjali Kulthe was called to the identification parade of Kasab and recognised him. Kulthe's testimony in court among other witnesses led to his conviction in May 2010 and death penalty was awarded to Kasab, who was executed on 21 November 2012. Kulthe also addressed at the UNSC Briefing: Global Counterterrorism Approach: Challenges and Way Forward via video link in December 2022 that Kasab showed no iota of remorse for his actions.

In 2026, the Hindi film, Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata was based on the terrorist attack on the hospital, and Kangana Ranaut played the role of Nurse Anjali Kulthe, who helped save 20 pregnant women during the attack.

Services

ART

In May 2024 started offering free infertility treatment as part of its Assisted reproductive technology (ART) services. In November 2025 the hospital became the first public institution in Maharashtra to receive accreditation to expand its ART facilities to provide egg freezing and sperm bank services. These services were extended for free to those who were eligible under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, the state's health insurance scheme.

References

  1. ↑ Mishra, Lata (16 January 2019). "132-yr-old Cama Hospital gets Rs 3-crore Tata grant". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Grant Government Medical College". gmcjjh.edu.in. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  3. ↑ Xenophon (1888). "Pestonjee Cama Hospital, Bombay". Indian Engineering: 432.
  4. ↑ "Dictionary of Indian Biography/Cama, Pestonji Hormusji - Wikisource, the free online library". en.wikisource.org. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Kittredge, George (1889). A short history of the "Medical Women for India" Fund of Bombay. Bombay: Education Society's Press. pp. 24–29.
  6. ↑ "Parliament: House of Commons". The Times. 8 December 1888. p. 8. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  7. 1 2 Lutzker, Edythe (1967). "Edith Pechey-Phipson, M.D.: Untold Story". Medical History. 11 (1): 41–45. doi:10.1017/S0025727300011728. ISSN 0025-7273. PMC 1033666. PMID 5341034.
  8. ↑ "Mr. H. M. Phipson". The Times. 8 August 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Charlotte Ellaby". The Times. 26 May 1909. p. 13. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "Elsie Inglis Unit For Eastern Front". The Times. 19 February 1918. p. 10. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Cama Hospital: First state-run hospital to offer urogynaecology fellowships". Hindustan Times. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Judgement, The High Court of Judicature at Bombay, The Judgment Reserved: 7 February 2011; The Order Is Pronounced: 21 February 2011". Archived from the original on 27 February 2011 – via The Times of India.
  13. ↑ Venema, Vibeke (11 February 2014). "India's 'Bullet baby': Born under fire in Mumbai". BBC News. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Witness account of Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar's death". Indian Express. 29 November 2008.
  15. ↑ Stephen Tankel (2016). Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Oxford University Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-19-933344-8.
  16. ↑ ""Don't shoot him. He is evidence", Cop's advice kept Kasab alive; helped to solve 26/11 mystery". The Hindu. 15 November 2009.
  17. ↑ "The hospital that saved itself remembers 26/11". The Hindu. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Pak LeT terrorist Kasab did not have 'iota of remorse' in jail after 26/11 attacks: Nurse Anjali Kulthe".
  19. ↑ "'This film will inspire society': Chhattisgarh CM praises Kangana Ranaut's 'Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata'". Times of India. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Real Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata: How Nurse Anjali Kulthe Saved 20 Pregnant Women During 26/11 Mumbai Attack". NDTV. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Cama Hospital Becomes First Public Hospital In Maharashtra to Receive Permission For Egg Freezing and Sperm Bank Facilities". The Times of India. 22 November 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 29 December 2025.