West Bengal to boost state health infrastructure

 West Bengal Proposes to use Scientific mapping to measure the health system gaps

 Aims to add 17,000 more beds and recruit more manpower with a planned investment of Rs 2,600 crore

The state of West Bengal is all set to boost its healthcare infrastructure at an additional investment of Rs 2600 crore. This measure is set to be achieved through scientific mapping, which will help in identifying the critical gap currently existing in state health system. Both, health services and infrastructure will be monitored under the new scientific system.

This initiative will help the state administration to identify which hospitals lacks the requisite manpower, and the other, for example, which requires more beds or equipments. It is driven by a single fold objective of delivering seamless health services in the state.

As reported by PTI,

The mapping was being done internally. In this process need-based realignment for 1000 doctors and nurses had already been done and more would follow, State Health Secretary Maly K De said.

The health department was also planning for a recruitment drive for health professionals like doctors and nurses.

In the last three years, 10,000 health professionals had been recruited. About 4,000 to 5,000 more doctors, nurses and technician would be recruited in near future, De said.

In the government sector, the total number of hospital beds in the state currently was 63,000 and it would become 80,000 by March next year, he said.

West Bengal Medical Council President and TMC legislator Nirmal Majhi said the core aim of the project was to deliver quality health services to 8.5 crore people across the state keeping the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's vision of healthcare for all.

"We are trying to bring reform from primary health to super specialty and correct poor work culture acquired from the previous government and meet the infrastructure gaps," he said.

The state is also in the process of investing Rs 250 crore in procuring radio therapy equipments, offering low cost cancer care facility to the people of the state, Majhi said.