KOLKATA: Another day, another hospital. Continuing with her surprise visits, chief minister Mamata Banerjee stormed into another declining health facility on Thursday afternoon. This time, it was the turn of Kolkata Police Hospital in Bhawanipore to face the CM's prying eyes and queries. The authorities, who barely managed to emerge unscathed, were instructed to prepare a proposal for improvement of facilities that had left Mamata unhappy.
"Ekhane super achen?" (Is the superintendent present here?) - was the chief minister's first query. On Wednesday, the superintendent of Bagha Jatin Hospital was missing when the chief minister had visited it. "How many beds do you have? What about doctors and other facilities?" asked the CM. "We have 300 beds here, Ma'am. There are 17 doctors, including a surgeon, a radiologist and an anaesthetist," replied superintendent Nikhil Ranjan Ray. "But there aren't enough patients here," observed Mamata.
"That's because all police personnel hold a mediclaim policy that entitles them to treatment in a few private facilities. We cater to patients with relatively minor ailments," said Ray. "But we can surely develop the facilities here, can't we?" asked Mamata. "Sure, Ma'am," interjected RMO D Mahajan. "It would be very nice if we can revamp the orthopaedic department. We need more doctors, better x-ray machines for that. Most of our patients need orthopaedic care," he said. The latter also pointed out that x-ray, ECG and ultra-sonography machines in the hospital were shut down after 2 pm.
The CM heard the doctor out and stepped into the elevator. She stopped on the first floor and entered the male ward. After a quick inspection, she headed for the female ward. Here, a woman complained to her about a dearth of medicines. Doctors, however, quickly refuted the claim. "Ma'am, she is perhaps not aware. Delays do happen, but we make sure to provide all medicines," said Ray. The CM asked him to make sure that medicines arrived on time.
Climbing down the stairs, Mamata now halted at the portico. "I have seen the facilities here. There is enough scope to revamp this hospital and turn it into a good one. You need night shelters for patients' families. Do send me the proposal fast," she told Ray before turning towards her car.
Ray later told TOI that he would suggest a complete overhaul of the orthopaedic department. "Ever since mediclaim polices were given, our load has reduced. The hospital is meant exclusively for the treatment of police personnel. Other than a few months during the monsoon, our beds are seldom full. But since policemen suffer injuries frequently and need good orthopaedic care, the facilities ought to be augmented. It is unfortunate that we have to suspend our diagnostic facilities after two in the afternoon. We don't have enough personnel to operate the instruments. Obviously, patients prefer private hospitals," said Ray.
A section of the staff, on the other hand, claimed that the authorities have deliberately been going slow on enhancing facilities. "They argue that since police personnel now hold medical insurance, it would be useless to have better facilities here. Nobody wants things to change here. The fact is that they don't want to work," alleged a staff.
Members of the hospital union - United State Government Employees' Federation - alleged they were not allowed to talk to the CM. "She visited the hospital on an invitation we had sent across to her on Wednesday. If necessary, we will get in touch with her again," said Tarun Biswas, joint secretary of the union.
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