Patients deprived of free health benefits due to non cooperation of some medical practitioners

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has introduced free health services at all the state-run hospitals across the state but quite often the patients are unable to take the maximum advantage of this unique health scheme due to non-cooperation of a section of doctors and nursing staff in the hospitals.

A senior health official on condition of anonymity said that a section of doctors and paramedical staff at some government hospitals were trying to oppose the project for 'narrow individual interests'. After the free health service was introduced in the state-run hospitals by the present government, it has hurt the interests of some people in the hospitals who used get some benefits out of recommending expensive drugs, surgical equipments, orthopaedic implants and stents. They also allegedly use to get commission from the diagnostic centers against each clinical tests performed on the patients.

"The main objective of the project was to make the health service accessible to the poorest sections of people who cannot afford to go to private hospitals for treatment. The government wants to ensure that every underprivileged person can get the facilities of the various health schemes started by it," the official said.

Following the infrastructural reforms in the state-run hospitals and medical colleges, patients can get most of their clinical tests done at the

hospitals free of cost. This has hampered the interest of some 'corrupt' people who used make money from the diagnostic centers and they triedto resist the scheme. A section of doctors were recommending patients to buy various items from a particular shop or company as they had acommission on selling each item. Some of these people have become instrumental in getting government earn a bad name. They were sayingthat a particular medicine/equipment was not available in the hospital but in reality these are available in the hospitals.

As a result of this, the health services have not fully reached all the beneficiaries on few occasions. The people coming to the medical colleges in the city are not fully aware that they are entitled to get free treatment under the various new schemes introduced by the Mamata Banerjee government.

The senior official of the state health department said there was no question of scarcity of items and all the medical colleges and hospitals arebeing given lots of money to smoothly run the project. Medical college and hospital authorities have been given a clear instruction to procure the necessary items from the government affiliated company when needed. The health department after conducting a survey on the requirement of the hospitals takes requisition from each department of hospitals. The medicines and other required items were then delivered to the respective hospitals.

Then the government makes bulk purchases of medicines, instruments, stents, implants, expensive drugs including that of cancer from the pharmaceutical companies in discounted rate. The health department provides medicines and other items worth few crore rupees to the state-run hospitals and the medical colleges. To run the project smoothly, the state government has allotted fund of nearly Rs 800 in the financial year.