'TMC government has brought transparency in private healthcare system of Bengal'

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday tweeted on the occasion of World Patient Safety Day, saying that her government has brought transparency in the private healthcare system in the state.

"Today is World Patient Safety Day. In #Bangla, we have passed the historic West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Bill, 2017, to regulate the private hospitals and bring transparency in the manner in which they operate," said Banerjee.

It may be mentioned here that it was the Chief Minister who felt the need of promulgating a new law to fix accountability on the private hospitals in the state and stressed that they cannot fleece patients and charge them exorbitantly.

A series of steps were subsequently taken by the state government following the instruction of the Chief Minister, including the setting up of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission.

The whole idea had been conceptualised and announced by Banerjee in the meeting held on February 22, 2017 at Town Hall, in presence of her Cabinet colleagues and the senior officials of various private establishments.

West Bengal Clinical Establishment (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Bill, 2017 was eventually passed in the Assembly on March 3, 2017.

The state government has given a platform to the people in the state to articulate their grievances against private healthcare providers. Since its inauguration, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission has already redressed hundreds of cases which came before it.

On a number of occasions, the regulatory commission has imposed fines on various private hospitals after their negligence was proven before the commission.

Interestingly, on the day the Chief Minister sent across the message stressing on patient safety in the hospitals, a bizarre incident came to light where the family members of a middle-aged blood cancer patient from East Midnapore Ansura Bibi, who also suffers from a psychological disorder, kept her chained inside NRS Medical College and Hospital.

The family members of the woman, however, alleged that she was denied treatment at the psychiatry ward.

A senior official of the hospital said that they did not have any clue about a patient being kept chained inside the campus. The official also said that the matter was being looked into with utmost seriousness.