After CM steps in, referral rate at Balurghat Dist Hosp dips to 1.5% from 15% in a yr

balurghat: Following strict instruction of Chief Minsiter Mamata Banerjee, the referral rate at Balurghat District Hospital has decreased in the past year. In April 2023, that rate came down to 1.5 per cent.

According to an official source, the district hospital’s referral rate in April 2022 was 15 per cent.

In this context, Consumer Affairs minister Biplab Mitra said: “The Chief Minister has repeatedly said that referral cases must be reduced. Balurghat District Hospital has taken very good steps in this regards. The doctors and the technical staff of the hospital tried to follow the Chief Minister’s words strictly.”

Superintendent of the hospital Krishnendu Bikas Bag said: “The services of the hospital have improved a lot. As a result, the confidence of the people in the area has increased. Patients are getting better services.”

Gautam Das, Chairman of Gangarampur Patient Welfare Association said: ‘The Chief Minister has ensured that the patient who can be cured by treatment in the district hospital or super-specialty hospital, should not be referred unnecessarily. As a result, the tendency to refer has stopped because of that. Reducing the referral rate in most government hospitals is a very good thing.”

Health department officials also took several initiatives to reduce referrals.

A health official said: “Provision of various orientation programmes and availability of health equipment led to the reduction in referral rate. Not only emphasising on reducing the referral rate, several activities are going on to improve the infrastructure of the hospital. Construction of the Critical Care Block has been started by identifying

vacant land adjacent to the Superintendent’s office in hospital premises. The block will have 50 beds with modern operation theatres.”