Mamata pulls up health department over delay in appointments

Kolkata, Nov 11 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over delay in completing appointments in the health sector, and asked officials to expedite the recruitment process.

Banerjee also spoke to State Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam in this regard, urging him to look into the matter at the earliest.

“We have made around 14,000 appointments. Recruitment was delayed due to a court case, but what’s causing the delay now? The Health Recruitment Board should speed up the process. The appointments for doctors, nurses and other vacancies should be completed immediately," she said at a programme here.

She, however, did not elaborate on the court case.

Banerjee, who is also the state’s health minister, raised concerns over alleged irregularities under the ‘Swasthya Sathi’ insurance scheme.

Referring to a recent incident in Barasat, she said a private hospital had reportedly told a patient that only Rs 2 lakh could be availed under the scheme, though the actual coverage is Rs 5 lakh.

“We pay up to Rs 5 lakh. They are taking money but not providing proper services. I will not tolerate this. As soon as I got to know, I asked for a complaint to be filed,” the CM said.

The licences of such medical institutions would be cancelled if they force patients to pay in cash, not accepting the ‘Swasthya Sathi’ card, she asserted.

Banerjee also said the health department has signed an MoU with Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, to establish two state-of-the-art cancer hubs.

Talking to PTI, a senior health department official said these hubs will serve as comprehensive centres for cancer diagnosis, treatment and research, bringing advanced oncology facilities within reach of patients in both southern and northern parts of the state.

Banerjee said that in addition, smaller cancer care centres equipped with modern LINAC (Linear Accelerator) machines are set to be commissioned at Murshidabad, Burdwan, and Sagar Dutta Medical College. PTI SCH RBT