Treat patients first before initiating hospital admission process: Mamata Banerjee to doctors

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (Illustration: Moneycontrol)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed displeasure over medical services provided at state-run SSKM Hospital, and urged doctors to treat patients first before initiating the admission process.

Banerjee, who went straight to the hospital after returning from New Delhi on Thursday evening, also took exception to the practice of doctors referring patients to other hospitals.

Treat (the patients) first and get the process part done later, especially in a trauma care centre (like the one in SSKM), which is an emergency service.

"Moreover, patients like pregnant women can die if they travel long hours to go to another hospital where they are referred," the CM said.

She was speaking at a foundation stone laying ceremony for a bouquet of projects at the IPGMER SSKM Hospital.

Banerjee also asked the hospital authorities to hire more staff to improve services, and advised them to make arrangements for availability of senior doctors for night duty.