Huge number of patients from other states, countries visit govt hospitals for treatment

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's dream project of providing free of cost health services in all

state-run hospitals and medical colleges are not only benefiting the people here in the state but also a large number from other states and neighbouring countries as well.

The success of the project has gone to the extent where a large number of people are coming to the city to undergo critical surgeries at various hospitals thereby, availing the benefits of the health scheme started by the Mamata Banerjee government.

A senior health department official said that people from outside the state are reaping the benefits of the project and many of these patients are undergoing critical surgeries at various state-run medical colleges in the city free of cost. Among them, a sizeable number of patients are from Bangladesh.

In most of the cases, the state Health department is clueless about the whereabouts of these patients coming from outside as they show themselves to be local residents. After the disease is cured, the patients go back to their respective native places. This is in turn, creating a pressure on the state government.

"We cannot stop a patient from outside from being treated at a government hospital free of cost only because he/she is not a resident of the state. Thus, many outside patients are found to be getting the benefits of various health schemes of the state," a senior official of the Health department said.

He further added that the state Health department is planning to make it mandatory that all patients or their relatives must produce a valid photo identity proof while availing treatment at various hospitals.

"Once the new system is introduced, the state government can keep a record as to how many patients from outside are being treated at the state government hospitals per year. This will also help the department to maintain an audit. Nobody will be restricted from getting free treatment facilities here," the official said.

In case a patient's condition is serious and require immediate attention, he or she would be provided emergency treatment. But the patient's relatives must be able to show the patient's identity cards be it Aadhaar Card, Voter Card, Pan Card before his/her discharge or during the time of his/her treatment. It has been found in many cases that the patients are mentioning wrong addresses.

Most of these outside patients are from Jharkhand, Bihar and Bangladesh. Salman Sajid, who has brought his elderly father Alamgir Hossain from Khulna district in Bangladesh to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital for a critical surgery, said: "We are getting free treatment here in the hospital. We consulted some doctors in Bangladesh but no major progress happened and hence we decided to bring the patient to Kolkata."