At a time when the Opposition BJP urged the Election Commission to make the medical treatment details of chief minister Mamata Banerjee public, some doctors of the six-member medical board that attended to her for two days after she was rushed to the SSKM Hospital from Nandigram said they did not sign her discharge certificate.
She was discharged from SSKM Hospital on Friday evening, virtually ignoring their advice to stay back at the hospital for two more days for clinical observations.
This has triggered controversy, raising questions on how was she discharged from the hospital.
When asked principal secretary in-charge of the health department, NS Nigam, said, “You talk to the SSKM Hospital director Dr Manimoy Bandyopadhyay.”
But Bandyopadhyay was not available for comment despite repeated calls and WhatsApp messages made to him by this correspondent.
A senior member of the medical board, requesting anonymity said, “Why should we sign on the discharge certificate when she ignored our request to stay at the hospital for two more days for clinical observations? She might be discharged on discharge-on-risk-bond (DORB).”
Another member of the board who was present during her discharge procedure said, “I won’t comment on it. Please forgive me.”
The board had also advised Mamata to revisit the hospital after seven days for a check-up. A health bulletin released by the SSKM Hospital during her day of discharge on Friday evening said,” CM Mamata Banerjee has responded well to the treatment. She has been discharged with appropriate instructions, due to her repeated requests. She has been advised to review after seven days.” It added: “The board has reexamined the health condition of the chief minister. We opened the plaster cast. Fresh plaster has been applied. The wound looks better. We wanted to keep her under observation for 48 hours. But with repeated requests, we are discharging her.”
In a letter to the Election Commission, the BJP camp has demanded that her treatment details at SSKM be brought to the public so that people could know exactly what had happened to her health condition after the incident at Nandigram.
“How did she recover so quickly within two days after her admission to the hospital?” BJP leaders said. Mamata has resumed campaigns for her party in a roadshow in a wheelchair on Sunday.