The Cama & Albless Hospital (originally just Cama Hospital) is a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

for women and children in the city of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, with 367 beds.

History

The foundation stone was laid by H.R.H. the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was al ...

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 is made from stone obtained from

Porbander Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

. Pestonjee Hormusjee Cama, is a Parsi philanthropist who contributed (~₹43 crore in 2020) to its construction. The staffing was provided through the Medical Women for India Fund. At the start, all appointments for doctors were temporary and revised after five years.

Edith Pechey Mary Edith Pechey (7 October 1845 – 14 April 1908) was one of the first women medical doctors in the United Kingdom and a campaigner for women's rights. She spent more than 20 years in India as a senior doctor at a women's hospital and was ...

, 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.

References

External links

Cama and Albless Hospital
- listing at the India Education Network *

(Dhobi Talao; 367 beds - Municipal hospitals in Mumbai) * Nitin Yeshwantrao and Hemali Chhapia
"Panic-stricken patients walk out of Cama hospital"
''Times of India'', 28 November 2008.
Tata donation to the hospital
Hospitals in Mumbai Children's hospitals in India Municipal hospitals in India Hospitals established in 1886 1886 establishments in British India {{India-hospital-stub