Bengal CM announces 250-bed trauma care centre at SSKM Hospital

Kolkata: To strengthen the state's public healthcare system, including a crackdown on hospital touts, expansion of critical care infrastructure, improved security for health workers, and enhanced facilities for patients and their families, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a series of measures.

During a visit to Swasthya Bhavan, the state Health Department headquarters, it was said that a central control room has been established to monitor government hospitals across West Bengal and identify touts operating within hospital premises.

"We have to remove the tout culture from hospitals," he said, adding that the control room would enable authorities to keep round-the-clock watch on hospitals and take prompt action against unscrupulous middlemen, reports UNI.

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The Chief Minister also announced measures to improve the safety of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare personnel. As part of the initiative, health workers will be issued identity badges to facilitate easier identification and strengthen security within hospitals.

According to sources, colour-coded bands will be issued for relatives of patients, kitchen workers, and other peripheral staff at the hospital.

To bolster emergency medical services, the chief minister announced the setting up of a 250-bed trauma care centre at SSKM Hospital, saying sufficient land was available for the project. He also directed officials to construct covered waiting sheds for relatives accompanying patients at government hospitals, with each facility expected to cost around Rs 25 lakh.

He added that the bed strength at SSKM Hospital had already been increased by 100 and announced that around 250 more beds would be added as part of the proposed trauma care centre.

"We plan to add around 250 more beds at the SSKM Hospital. This will be completed before Durga Puja," Adhikari said, adding that the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds would also be increased to 200 from the existing 112.

Expressing concern over burn care facilities, Adhikari said specialised treatment infrastructure across the state's hospitals required urgent improvement.

"The burn units in our state are a bit weak. There are only 60 beds at the burn unit at SSKM. We need better doctors and better facilities at the burn units across state-run hospitals. I realised this from my experience after the under-construction warehouse collapsed in Taratala. Our existing health facilities will face a challenging time and will not be able to handle the situation in case of a big calamity or accident," he said.

Referring to private healthcare, the Chief Minister alleged that no new private healthcare unit had come up in Bengal in the past 15 years when the Trinamool Congress was in power.

During the Left regime, land had been allotted to private hospitals at a token price of Re 1 on the condition that 15 per cent of their beds would be reserved free of cost for poor patients, but the provision had not been effectively implemented.

"We have managed to ensure that 10 per cent of beds are now available for poor patients," he said.

Adhikari said the proposed Adani Hospital in New Town would have a capacity of 2,000 beds, of which 1,000 would be reserved for free treatment of economically weaker patients, while the remaining 1,000 would be private beds.

On the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities under the Sevashray scheme -- a health project undertaken and executed by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee -- the Chief Minister said the Health Department would extend full cooperation to the police.

"The Health Department will help the police probe in every possible way. Facts must not be suppressed," he said while instructing the principal secretary of the department to ensure full cooperation in the probe.

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