Negligence at Barasat District Hosp tarnishes state’s health push
Kolkata: Despite the state government spending over Rs 500 crore on new buildings and infrastructure, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s project to upgrade Barasat District Hospital into a full-fledged medical college appears to be faltering, with a series of recent incidents raising concerns about administrative failure and lapses in basic healthcare delivery.
According to hospital sources, the medical college has come under scrutiny after allegations surfaced in connection with an incident in which the eye of an accident victim was found missing when the body was retrieved from the morgue. The episode has intensified questions about why a government medical college is struggling to provide essential services. Days earlier, a 76-year-old man from Nabapally was brought to the emergency department with chest pain around 9.30 pm. After preliminary tests returned normal, the patient’s son was asked to wheel him to the ECG room, where trainees struggled with malfunctioning ECG machines. The machine was reportedly changed twice before a proper reading could be recorded. When the patient was taken back to the emergency ward, he was given a Sorbitrate tablet, though his discomfort had already subsided. He later alleged that the person who prescribed the medicines was not adequately qualified to do so. Hospital staff said such operational lapses in the emergency ward are frequent.
The morgue incident triggered public anger on Tuesday when family members of the deceased blocked the Chief Minister’s convoy on Jessore Road. A second autopsy and forensic tests on Thursday confirmed that the missing eye had been gnawed by rats while the body was kept in the morgue, ruling out the family’s suspicion of tampering. Hospital authorities have acknowledged rat infestation and admitted that surveillance by morgue staff is inadequate.
Banerjee has repeatedly expressed concern that negligence by a section of staff undermines the state’s development efforts. The health budget has risen five-fold from Rs 3,584 crore in 2010–11 to Rs 20,195 crore.
