Historical Background

The origins of the Church of South India Hospital Bangalore, originally known as the Zenana Mission Hospital, can be traced back to the establishment of the Church of England Zenana Mission (CEZM) in England in the 1880s. The CEZM consisting exclusively of female missionaries was formed in order to bring the message of Christ totheIndianwomen who led cloistered lives under the Purdah System. Under this system, the women, mostly from the Muslim community were confined to the women’s quarters called the Zenana within their homes. These women had no access to health care since unrelated men including doctors were forbidden to enter the Zenanas. Many of these women were suffering and dying due to treatable illnesses because male doctors were not allowed to examine and treat these women. Many young mothers were dying due to complications arising during childbirth. The only way to save these women was to establish a hospital exclusively for women with an all-women medical staff. But the problem was to get women doctors in India. There were no trained women doctors in India in those days. This, however, did not daunt the spirit of the women missionaries of CEZM. The zeal and desire to enable Indian women to live life in all its fullness prompted them to go back to England to seek help. The three local CEZM missionaries at Bangalore, namely, Miss. M. A. Thom, Miss. A. M. Smith and Miss. Goldsmith collected funds and acquired the present site for a hospital exclusively for women and children. A princely sum of Rs. 40000 was collected and the Foundation Stone for the Hospital was laid on 30th October 1893 by Bishop Frederick Gell, the Bishop of Madras. The hospital was formally inaugurated two years later on 31st October 1895. It was called the Ghosha Hospital or the Zenana Mission Hospital and remained an exclusive hospital for women and children for the next 70 years.

A noteworthy fact about the hospital was that the staff of the hospital was composed entirely of women except for the lone male who was in charge of the billing and operated from behind a purdah, revealing only his hands for collecting the bill! No male was allowed inside the portals of the hospital.

Dr. Amy Gordon Lilingston LRCP&S (Edinburgh) was the first Medical Superintendent of the Hospital. Dr. Lillingston was joined by Dr. Dora Lockwood LRCP&S (London) in 1902 who assisted her and remained in the Hospital till 1926. These two women were responsible for the growth of the hospital during the initial three decades of its existence.

It was soon realized that Tuberculosis was widely prevalent in the city and women were more susceptible to it than men. Responding to this need, Dr. Lilingston raised funds and constructed an open-air ward on top of the terrace of the Hospital for treating women with tuberculosis. Thus in 1913, the Hospital became one of the first hospitals in the state of Mysore to provide treatment for women with tuberculosis.

The hospital remained one of the pioneering institutions in Mysore State for the treatment of tuberculosis and by 1930 it was known as Zenana Mission Tuberculosis Hospital. Doctors and nurses received special training in the management of tuberculosis. Anti-TB drugs had not been yet discovered but patients were treated with bed-rest, good nutrition, and surgical procedures. Records show that by 1942 there were 43 exclusive beds for tuberculosis out of the total bed-strength of 98.

The Church of South India (CSI) was established in the year 1947 following Indian Independence and the Zenana Mission Hospital was renamed as Church of South India Hospital. In 1954 the CEZM handed over the Hospital to CSI. Dr. S. Thomas MBBS, TDD became the first medical superintendent of the CSI Hospital.

With the passage of time and the changing socio-cultural milieu there came, a relaxation in gender segregation and the need for an exclusive women’s hospital became redundant. What was now needed was a modern hospital that could provide effective treatment at a cost affordable especially to the economically weaker sections of the society. Thus in the year 1965, in response to the changing needs of the society, the hospital opened its doors to male patients and became a General Hospital.

In 1978 a new building with modern Operating Theatres and Intensive Care Units was opened. The Hospital is now a 240 bedded multispecialty hospital.

The Hospital has a School of Nursing and training program in Allied Health Services. It is also accredited by the National Board of Examinations to provide DNB Post-graduate training for doctors in Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The Hospital is managed by the Karnataka Central Diocese, Church of South India, with Rt. Rev. Dr. P. K. Samuel, the Bishop of KCD as the Chairman of the Hospital Board of Management.

Present Status:

The hospital now is a 220 bedded multi-specialty facility, catering to the health needs of people in the surrounding areas. Being a multi-specialty Hospital, it also serves as a secondary and in some super-specialties like Nephrology and Cardiology are offering tertiary level care with a full-fledged Dialysis unit, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and a 20 bed ICU for cardiac, medical and surgical intensive care.