The state health department has urged principals, medical superintendent cum vice-principals (MSVPs), students, doctors and faculties of all medical colleges across the state to attend the chief minister’s meet with medics, scheduled on Monday at Dhanadhanya Auditorium to make the event successful.
Narayan Swaroop Nigam, principal secretary in charge of health department, has written to directors and principals of teaching hospitals and medical institutes and chief medical officers of health (CMOHs) in districts, on 19 February, requesting them to attend the doctors’ convention titled ‘Chikitsar Arek Naam Seba’ organised by the State Level Grievance Redressal Committee (SLGRC), where Miss Banerjee is scheduled to be present as the chief guest.
Mr Nigam has also urged the principals and CMOHs to allow medical students, doctors and faculties to attend the programme to make it successful without disrupting normal healthcare services in medical colleges and hospitals.
The SLGRC, headed by its chairman Dr Sourav Dutta, and surgeon associated with the SSKM Hospital, has been holding on-the-spot meetings with principals, MSVPs, administrative officials, students and doctors of respective medical colleges for the past one month to feel their pulses in connection with their problems and grievances.
“We have been reaching out to doctors and students in every medical college for more than a month to know whether they are facing any problems in connection with patient care services and academic affairs. We are expecting a good turnout in the convention on Monday,” Dr Dutta said.
In several medical colleges students and junior doctors have expressed their grievances when the SLGRC members meet them. For instance, two rival groups of students and junior medics got involved in heated exchange of words at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF) has not yet decided whether they would attend the convention to convey their grievances during the face-to-face meet with the CM.
“There are so many issues like threat culture in government medical colleges unleashed by a section of influential persons belonging to the ruling party in the state, uncontrolled corruptions in connection with tender process for procurement of hospital items and transfers and postings of doctors and nurses, large scale irregularities in West Bengal Medical Council and above all justice for R G Kar Hospital incidents still remained unresolved despite people’s outrage and medical fraternity continuous mass protest movements for the more than past six months,” said Dr Manas Gumta of Association of Health Service Doctors (AHSD).
“We hope that the chief minister will take positive steps to resolve these unresolved issues for proper healthcare and medical education in public healthcare facilities in our state. We also want doctors and medical students to attend the convention keeping the healthcare services in hospitals normal on Monday,” he added.