INHS Asvini
The INHS Asvini is a hospital of the Indian Navy in Mumbai. With 825 beds, the tertiary care institution is the oldest and largest hospital of the Indian Navy. Established as the King's Seamen Hospital in 1756, it was christened INHS Asvini in 1951 and accorded the status of a Command Hospital in 1977.
History
In 1756, the King’s Seamen Hospital started functioning in the naval barracks for in-patients in Colaba. The hospital was converted into a convalescent home in 1766. In 1860, the Hawa Mahal was built as the main ward of the hospital. It was transferred to the Indian Army when Her Majesty's Indian Navy was transitioned into the Bombay Marine. Under the Army, the Military Hospital, Colaba was expanded over the next century, including the addition of a family hospital in 1929.On 18 September 1951, the Indian Army handed the hospital over to the Indian Navy and the establishment was commissioned as INHS Asvini. In July 1954, the sick berth school was established, followed by the Naval Dental Centre in 1961. The School of Nursing was set up in 1963. The sick berth school was renamed School of Medical Assistants in 1967. By 1966, Asvini was a 600-bedded hospital and further expanded to become an 825-bedded hospital in January 1977 when it was classified as a Command Hospital.
The Institute of Naval Medicine was established in 1964 as the Naval Medical Research and Training Centre and renamed INM in 1974. It is the nodal agency to coordinate all the research projects of the Navy in the Armed Forces Medical Research Committee and the Defence [Research and Development Organisation]. INM was placed under Asvini in 2004.