State makes prominent display of ‘Swasthya Sathi’ info in private hospitals mandatory

Kolkata: State government is set to make it mandatory for private hospitals to put on display a board in prominent locations within the hospital premises describing services extended to the patients by the state under the ‘Swasthya Sathi’ scheme. An instruction in this regard has been forwarded to the private hospitals.

Several issues had come up before the state health department that various private hospitals did not properly disseminate information about ‘Swasthya Sathi’ scheme among the patients.There were instances where the private hospitals misguided the patients who were seeking admission under the state’s flagship health scheme. In many cases, the patients who were keen on availing Swasthya Sathi in private hospitals ended up undergoing treatment on their own as the private hospitals did not allegedly cooperate with the patients. The Bengal government is therefore going to take a tough stand in this regard. Nabanna has already directed the state health department to ensure that the private hospitals put on display a board in the crucial locations within the premises the ‘Swasthya Sathi’ related services which the state government provides to the people of Bengal at completely free of cost. “The boards should be placed in such places in the hospitals so that the patients and their relatives can see them. The hospitals will have to inform the patients of the services which are extended by the government under the scheme through these displays,” a senior health department official said.

Incidentally, following the junior doctors’ agitation, the state government’s spending on patient treatment under the Swasthya Sathi scheme in private hospitals had surged significantly, as many patients opted for private facilities over government hospitals.

Many patients after failing to avail of health services in government-run institutions, visited private hospitals for treatment. According to data, around 563 senior resident doctors out of total 3,329 continued their practice in private hospitals and also treated patients under Swasthya Sathi scheme from August 9 to October 17 when the agitating junior doctors were continuing to cease work in government hospitals. These 563 resident doctors treated a total 73,905 cases under Swasthya Sathi during this period for which the state government had spent Rs 54.39 crore. The overall expenditure of the state government under Swasthya Sathi during this period went up

to Rs 430 crore.