At a time when dengue is ravaging large parts of Bengal, killing more than 30 patients (the figure is unofficial) this year, the 10-member state advisory committee on health has not yet sat for a single meeting during the past seven years or more.
The committee headed by Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, senior general medicine expert in the city, is supposed to meet every month to chalk out plans for healthcare development as well as for prevention of communicable diseases.
Soon after coming to power in Bengal in 2011, the Mamata Banerjee government had formed the committee, comprising doctors like Dr Mukherjee, the vice chancellor of the West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS), Dr R N Pandey, the head of nephrology department of SSKM Hospital, Dr Tamal Ghosh, the special secretary in the health department and several other experts.
“It’s true that no meeting has been called so far during the past few months. I think, Dr Ghosh is busy with other official work in the health department. A meeting should be called soon to discuss different health issues in the state,” Dr Mukherjee told The Statesman.
“Our committee used to meet every month for betterment of healthcare system in the state without taking any honorarium or even transport from the government,” Dr Mukherjee said.
“Some members of the committee have retired from government service while a few others are now above 65. We are considering how to convene a meeting of the committee as soon as possible,” Dr Ghosh, convenor of the committee, said. “Our convenor can clarify on the issue but it’s a fact that no meeting has been called for long time,” Dr Pandey said. With reports of dengue deaths coming regularly in the city and districts, the mosquito-borne disease is spreading its network in the state.
In Kolkata, more than 2000 people have already been affected by dengue. Wards in many government and private hospitals in the city are being flooded with dengue-affected patients.
An administrative officer of a premier private hospital in the Alipore area said that more than 20 patients are undergoing treatment in different wards there. “It will be difficult to admit other patients if the rush of dengue cases to our hospital increases,” he added requesting anonymity.
The health department led by the chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee had also appointed Dr B R Satpathi, former director of health services (DHS), as another advisor to the department during the end of 2017.
But the government’s decision to re-employ Dr Satpathi had sparked a serious controversy at a time when at least three separate groups of experts, including the Dr Mukherjee-headed committee, exist in the health department to monitor healthcare services as well as medical education system in the state.
“These three groups have three chairmen each. But I am still in the dark about the functions of another advisor. It’s the lookout of the government to decide on the matter,” a member of the committee led by Dr Mukherjee said.