'Action against govt docs urging patients to avail treatment under Swasthya Sathi at pvt hospitals'

KOLKATA: State government may take disciplinary action against a section of doctors in government hospitals who are not only keen on private practice but also persuade patients to undergo treatment in private hospitals under Swasthya Sathi scheme instead of treating them in government establishments.

The Chief Medical Officers of Health (CMoHs) in all the districts have been given specific directives in this regard. It may be mentioned here that the State Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi recently held a virtual meeting with the top administrative officials of the districts in this regard.

According to health department sources, all the CMoHs have been directed to take strong action against the doctors who devote long time in private hospitals when they should have served in government establishments instead.

A senior health department official on condition of anonymity said that despite the state government's relentless efforts to ensure best medical services to patients in all the government run health units and to introduce several modern facilities, a section of government doctors is earning a bad name to the government as they are keen on

private practice.

Many of these doctors are devoting several hours in private hospitals instead of rendering services in government health establishments they are attached to.

There has been a startling revelation that some doctors in government hospitals are asking patients requiring surgeries to consult them at private hospitals so that the patients can undergo treatment under Swasthya Sathi scheme outside the periphery of government hospitals. Such incidents create financial burdens on the state government as it pays a huge amount as Swasthya Sathi bills to private hospitals against those patients who could have easily been treated in government hospitals. Doctors who treat patients or conduct a surgery at private hospitals under Swasthya Sathi scheme get extra fees.

State health department has been trying to fix accountability on the government service doctors. Earlier, the state Health department directed the CMoHs to prepare a roster making it mandatory for the doctors to devote at least 40 hours in all the government-run health establishments in a week.