A doctor at the department of oncology at the Balurghat hospital on Friday refused to check a patient, citing shortage of staff.

The cancer patient, Gayanada Das, 80, had been taken to the hospital by her grandson Amit Das, while the hospital staff asked them to wait a while.

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The duo allegedly waited from 9:30 am to 12:30 in the noon. The accused doctor, however, denied the allegations and claimed that the patient was turned away due to lack of treatment facility in the hospital.

Chief Medical Officer of Health(CMOH), South Dinajpur, Sukumar Dey, has meanwhile assured he would take steps after he investigates the matter.

“We waited outside the oncology department and after three hours the doctor informed us that there are no helping hands to take care of my grandmother, and he denied treatment,” Mr Das alleged.

Mrs Das has been suffering from cancer and was undergoing treatment at the Thakurpur Cancer hospital. The doctors there advised her to undergo chemotherapy sessions, and she had been undergoing the same for the past two months, it is learnt.

It may be mentioned here that the district health department recently introduced the oncology department at the Balurghat hospital “We were excited about the oncology department that has started functioning at the hospital. But on Friday we found that there is no such facility for us here. The doctor refused to treat my grandmother. We are going back,” Mr Das said.

According to hospital sources, the condition of the patient was serious. “She needed radiology. But it is not available in our hospital.

So we had no other option but to refer her to some other hospital for better treatment. Yes we have shortage of staff and helpers to offer better services.

We need manpower. Our oncology department is still lagging behind,” a staff claimed. “This should not have happened here. We have arranged for every possible facility for the cancer patients and have ensured enough stock of medicines. We have not received any complaint against the doctor yet. I will still look into the matter and will seek an explanation from him,” the CMOH said.