A day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid a surprise visit to Sambhunath Pandit Hospital, it was decided that henceforth, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will sweep and clean the compounds of the state-run hospitals in the city twice daily.
So long, the state Public Works department (PWD) used to look after the solid and medical waste management in state-run hospitals. PWD had assigned private agencies to do the job.
When Banerjee made a surprise visit to Sambhunath Pandit hospital on Tuesday, the hospital superintendant had told her that there was some problem in
getting sweepers from the designated agency regularly. The same complaint was echoed by Dr Manimoy Bandopadhyay, medical super of SSKM when asked why sweeping and cleaning
was not done at the hospital regularly.
After returning to Nabanna, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with Mayor Sovan Chatterjee and asked him to engage labourers under 100 days work scheme for the purpose.
On Wednesday afternoon, Banerjee made a surprise visit to SSKM hospital. She along with Aroop Biswas, state Sports minister and chairman of SSKM Rogi Kalyan Samity reached the hospital at 12.20 pm. She got down in front of the building that houses the Emergency ward and went to the place where the construction of the new Emergency building is underway. She inquired when the building would be ready.
The Chief Minister then went to the place where the proposed organ transplant unit will come up. From there, Banerjee went to the building situated opposite the Ronald Ross building from where cards for the outdoor patients are issued and talked to some of the relatives of patients.
She listened to their complaints and instructed the medical super to listen to the grievances of the patients and their relatives. She
instructed Dr Bandopadhyay to ensure that sweeping and cleaning is done regularly and twice daily.
It may be mentioned that in the administrative review meetings held in the districts recently, Banerjee pulled up officials of state-run hospitals and medical establishments in the districts and urged them to work seriously.
As the state government is providing free medical service to patients in state-run hospitals which is first-of-its-kind in the country, Banerjee, who is also the Health minister, does not want to leave any stone unturned to
ensure that not only the patients get the best treatment but also get to avail the services in a good ambience.