Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today warned private hospitals, which are allegedly refusing the state government’s Swasthya Sathi card. The CM also warned that the licence of such private nursing homes would be cancelled if they continued to ignore the card and refuse medical services to patients.

As administrative officials, during a review meeting at Uttarkanya, presented the state government’s plans to ready infrastructure in health sub-centres and for providing basic medical services to people in the rural belt, the CM alerted officials about looking into the negligence of private hospitals and not entertaining the state government’s health card.

“If they do not provide treatment to card holders, I will cancel their licences,” Miss Banerjee said. As many people contracted Covid-19 during the first and the second waves, private hospitals allegedly refused to entertain the patients as they tried to settle their medical bills with the Swasthya Sathi Card.

Though state officials, including former minister Gautam Deb, and other party leaders did talk tough on such alleged practice by private hospitals here and said they had taken initiatives to solve the problem, the common people still complained that most of the private hospitals in the town did not accept the card.

Miss Banerjee further said that health sub-centers have been converted into SuSwasthya Kendras with multiple health service facilities. According to her, a total of 15,000 Su- Swasthya Kendras will work across the state.

Miss Banerjee also was serious about implementation of government programmes, especially Lakshmir Bhandar, and alerted officials that the Swasthya Sathi Card was mandatory to obtain the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.

The CM pointed this out after an official explained the reasons behind 27 lakh pending and incomplete applications for Lakshmir Bhandar. The CM asked officials to launch a special drive between 15 and 30 November this year to clear the pending applications.

Significantly, Miss Banerjee asked her administrative officials to also prepare Self Help Groups (SHG) for men, after a huge number of SHG women are working successfully, assisting in different sectors as per the state government’s programmes.