Kolkata: People in Bengal will now be able to undergo four surgeries — hernia operation, hydrocelectomy, fissurectomy and arthroscopic surgeries in private hospitals under state government’s flagship health scheme “Swasthya Sathi”.
The Health department has issued a circular saying that the private hospitals will now carry out these surgeries under the “Swasthya Sathi”.
According to sources, the decision was taken after it was found that the patients requiring these surgeries were being kept in a queue in government hospitals. State government had earlier stopped these surgeries under “Swasthya Sathi” in private hospitals as there were adequate facilities in government hospitals for these surgeries.
If any doctors in government hospitals feel that there will be delay for a patient to undergo the surgery and the patient requires an urgent operation, they may recommend the patient to undergo the surgery in a private health establishment.
A doctor in a government hospital will have to mention it on the prescription. In case of an accident, if a patient requires arthroscopic surgeries, they are entitled to undergo them in private hospitals under the “Swasthya Sathi” scheme. It was learnt that in some cases, the patients requiring these surgeries were not getting dates from the government hospitals due to the excessive burden of patients.
In 2022, the state health department had issued directives saying that no private hospitals in the state would be able to conduct hernia operations, hydrocelectomy under Swasthya Sathi scheme.
Patients requiring these surgeries will have to avail the treatment under the Swasthya Sathi scheme from the government hospitals, said the earlier directives.
Health department that time tried to ensure that people undergo these surgeries in the government hospitals so that these facilities were utilised.
The state Health department earlier had also directed various private hospitals to upload the packages of treatment for the patients who are given treatment under Swasthya Sathi scheme
immediately after admission and also their discharge summary on the health department’s portal after the department had spotted some irregularities in the packages and bills submitted by these hospitals.