Bengal all set to implement centralised referral system from first week of November

Kolkata: The state government is all set to implement a centralised referral system in all the government hospitals from the first week of November which will help the hospital authorities to handle the transfer cases in a more scientific and effective manner.

The system which will soon be implemented will show whether the beds are available in the higher government-run healthcare facilities across the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her recent meeting with the health officials directed the latter to introduce a centralised referral system which will not only handle the transfer of patients in a better way, but the patients’ relatives will also have an idea where their patients will be transferred according to the availability of beds.

Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Monday said that a centralised referral system will be run from October 15 on a pilot basis as it would give some lessons to the health officials on how to implement the system in a convenient manner. Once the project is carried out on a pilot basis, it will be introduced throughout the state from the first week of November.

“Now it will be operated on a pilot basis and then the centralised transfer system will be run across the state from the first week of November.

Once it is introduced, the real time bed availability will be shown on the centralised system by virtue of which the lower tier hospitals will get to know in which nearby medical college they can transfer a patient.

The step has been taken following the instruction of the Chief Minister and the sole objective of the move is to streamline the transfer system in government hospitals,” Pant said.

Incidentally, the agitating junior doctors’ additional demands included the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state and also the implementation of a digital bed vacancy monitoring system.

It was learnt that the hospitals which would refer patients will have to mention why the hospital was referring the patient to the other hospital. The relatives of the patients will also have information as to where their patients are getting transferred.