The health department’s dramatic decision to cancel the three-day workshop starting February 23, just an hour before its start at the luxurious three-star Ibiza Fern Resort and Spa on Diamond Harbour Road, in South 24-Parganas, has not gone down well with the delegates.

Dr Soumitra Mohan, mission director of the National Health Mission (NHM), West Bengal, had organised the workshop for digitalisation of service-related issues of contractual employees in the health department. The deputy chief medical officers of healthI (CMOH-I) and non-medical staff, associated with IT cells in district health administrations across the state, were supposed to attend the residential orientation programme.

Dr Mohan issued letters on February 16 to CMOHs of all districts in this regard. The department had also booked 60 AC rooms at the resort for more than 120 doctors and non-medical contractual employees to stay during the workshop. Each room costs around Rs 9,000 a day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many deputy CMOHs and IT cell staff from remote districts of north and south Bengal had reached the venue early morning on Wednesday.

The delegates alleged that the workshop was cancelled through a WhatsApp message sent from Swasthya Bhaban, the health department headquarters, to the participants when many of them were getting ready to attend the workshop, post lunch. “Why did the health department cancel the workshop, hardly one hour before the programme’s scheduled start at 2 pm? It’s even more perplexing when the cancellation happens through a WhatsApp message instead of any official order from the Swasthya Bhaban,” said a deputy CMOH-I, who was there to attend the event.

“The abrupt cancellation landed many of the participants from remote districts in deep trouble because they were supposed to return to their respective districts by long-distance trains after the programme ending on February 25,” he said, requesting anonymity. “It was harassment to us when we came to know about the cancellation of the event. Many of us were in trouble because we had no boarding arrangements at the resort for two days. We frantically looked for tatkal tickets, coughing up extra money for about Rs 1,500 for a train berth in a north Bengal-bound train,” said a district statistical manager.

The Association of Health Service Doctors (AHSD) has lodged a complaint with the state chief secretary HK Dwivedi requesting his intervention to probe the whimsical decision to cancel the workshop. “We have demanded the chief secretary to take steps so that an official letter cancelling the programme is issued by the health department. Without an official letter it would be difficult for many deputy CMOHs and IT cell staff from remote districts to get back their money spent for buying train tickets on tatkal service, accommodations and food, in addition to their applicable daily allowance,” said Dr Manas Gumta, AHSD secretary. “It’s also surprising to know how could a cash-strapped government decide to organise a workshop in such a luxurious resort and spa,” Dr Gumta added.