MUMBAI, Dec. 31 -- As severely injured patients from the Bhandup bus crash were rushed to nearby hospitals late on Tuesday night, the MT Agarwal Municipal General Hospital, the closest facility to the accident site and inaugurated barely ten days ago, struggled to handle the emergency. The civic-run hospital in Mulund, reopened after being rebuilt and expanded into a super-speciality facility, retained only two patients for treatment, referring the rest elsewhere. The hospital is not yet equipped to handle patients requiring advanced or emergency care. Among those injured in the crash was 39-year-old Sheetal Hadve, who was returning home to Bhandup from her workplace in Kanjurmarg. According to her family, Sheetal had just alighted at Bhandup station and was standing in a queue at the bus stop adjacent to the station when the bus rammed into commuters. The family learnt about the crash around 10.30pm after visuals were aired on television. "I tried calling my sister immediately, but a police officer answered the phone instead," said her elder sister, Poonam Yadav, 40. Police later informed the family that Sheetal had been taken to MT Agarwal Hospital. Sheetal was administered first aid at the hospital, but her family said the hospital lacked the facilities needed to treat her injuries. "When we arrived there, we saw there weren't enough facilities or staff to handle such serious cases. The doctors themselves told us it would be difficult to treat her there," Poonam said. She added that the hospital did not have CT scan or MRI machines. "For such a big, newly inaugurated hospital, this was shocking." Doctors advised the family to shift Sheetal to either Rajawadi Hospital or Sion Hospital. She was taken by ambulance to Sion Hospital around 1am. Doctors there said she required a CT scan and had sustained injuries to her hips, face, knees and lips. A doctor at Sion Hospital told Hindustan Times that Sheetal was stable but had suffered blunt force trauma. However, the family alleged that even at Sion Hospital, they were asked to help move her between departments. "We were pushing her stretcher everywhere. A nurse even asked me to remove and put back her medical lines for the scan and shouted when I couldn't do it properly," Poonam said. "We trust doctors to do this. If the hospital cannot manage the patient load, we may shift her to a private hospital." Sheetal herself told HT, "It was shocking. It was one of my worst experiences. I have been writhing in pain since yesterday and they keep moving me around." A similar experience was reported by the family of 59-year-old Ramdas Rupe, a control panel painting professional from Goregaon. His son, Yash Rupe, said his father failed to answer calls around 9.45pm. "A neighbour told us about the accident. When I reached the spot, bodies were being taken away and I was very confused," he said. Ramdas was taken to MT Agarwal Hospital, where he received three stitches and was declared stable, but doctors advised further evaluation. "They said he needed a CT scan and observation, which they could not do there," Yash said. He was shifted to Sion Hospital, where doctors said he had injuries on the left side of his face and head, with a possible concussion. "It was our worst nightmare," Yash added. Responding to the criticism, a senior BMC official from MT Agarwal Hospital said they did what they could. "Facilities in the new building are not fully operational. We had to recognise our limits and refer patients needing CT scans and advanced care. We retained only those with minor injuries," he said....