Soon, ‘project management unit’ to check Swasthya Sathi refusals
KOLKATA: In a significant development, the Bengal government has taken two important decisions — one relating to Swasthya Sathi while the other one is for the betterment of migrant labourers.
In a Cabinet meeting, it was decided that the state would set up a ‘project management unit’ which will work to ensure that the private hospitals do not deny the admission of patients having Swasthya Sathi cards. If a patient raises his/her issues relating to Swasthya Sathi with the ‘project management unit’, it will examine the complaint and take up the issue with the private hospitals. It will also ensure that the Swasthya Sathi patients get an admission to another hospital if the first hospital fails to admit the patient due to bed crunch. Patients will be able to raise complaints with the ‘project management unit’ online or offline as per their choices. The government also decided to set up a minority development board.
Senior Cabinet ministers— Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas and Moloy Ghatak held a joint press conference in Nabanna on Monday when they said that people will not face any Swasthya sathi related issues in the future. Steps would be taken if any hospitals deny the admission of a patient under Swasthya Sathi. State government is yet to decide when the ‘project management unit’ will be made operational and how many members will be there in the unit. In another development, the state government on Monday decided to set up a migrant workers’ welfare board which will exclusively work for the development of migrant labourers. State is committed to bring in socio-economic changes in the lives of migrant workers. The Mamata Banerjee government felt the need of setting up a separate welfare board for the migrant workers since the Covid pandemic broke out. The way the migrant labourers were forced to return to the state during Covid and their deplorable plight moved the Chief Minister. She gave necessary instructions to her government so that a comprehensive development plan can be initiated.
All the migrant labourers will be identified and their names will be listed. State will have data relating to those migrant workers who have gone to other states from Bengal. State Labour minister Moloy Ghatak who will be the chairman of the board on Monday said migrant labourers go to various states for work. There was no mechanism to keep a track on them. Following the instruction of the Chief Minister, a welfare board has been formed which will work for the benefits of the migrant workers.
