Hooghly22 minutes agoAuthor: Tirthankar Das
Graphics by Gaurav Raj.
A request by West Bengal Minister of State for Health Sumana Sarkar to open the OPD ticket counter at 7 am for the convenience of patients has allegedly not been implemented at Serampore Super Speciality Hospital.
Minister seeks earlier OPD ticket opening
Sarkar had visited the speciality hospital without prior notice last Saturday and found a large number of patients waiting in queues from early morning to obtain OPD tickets. During her interaction with patients, she learnt that the ticket counter was scheduled to open at 9 am.
Considering that many patients travel from distant areas and arrive early to secure tickets, the minister had suggested that the counter be opened at 7 am to reduce their waiting time.
Patients arrive early for medical services
However, when patients arrived at the hospital on Monday morning, the OPD ticket counter reportedly remained closed even after 8 am. Several patients from Jangipara, Balagarh, and Begampur were among those waiting outside the OPD.
Distant patients face prolonged waiting time
Patients alleged that despite the minister’s instruction or request, the revised timing had not been implemented. They questioned who would listen to their grievances if even a minister’s intervention failed to bring about a change.
The incident has also raised concerns over the implementation of administrative directions and patient facilities at the government-run hospital.
TMC leader seeks implementation at grassroots level
Santosh Singh, president of the Hooghly-Serampore organisational district of the Ritabrata Ghosh faction of the Trinamool Congress, said merely making announcements through the media would not be enough.
He said the decision needed to be implemented at the grassroots level so that ordinary patients could actually benefit from the change.
MLA backs earlier opening of counter
Serampore MLA and West Bengal Minister of State for Labour Bhaskar Bhattacharya said that if the health minister had found that opening the counter at 7 am would benefit patients, the facility should certainly be introduced.
Bhattacharya said the matter would be communicated to the department and that the hospital would act in accordance with the department’s directions. He added that hospitals should extend service hours wherever possible to provide greater convenience to patients.
