KOLKATA - Healthcare Guide...'Get well soon'

[debayanlahiri]

Seriously injured in Partho Biswas (35) was rushed all the way from Krishnanagar to Kolkata, a distance of about 100 kilometres for better treatment referred by doctors at the local hospital. Biswas had suffered a head injury in a motor-cycle accident few weeks ago. Bisaws's family had shuttle from one government hospital to another finally seeking treatment in a private hospital.

"Though we do not have fund for treatment in private hospital we had to admit him in one as we could not see him sinking. We first took him to NRS Medical College and Hospital and then to Bangur Institute of Neurology and then to SSKM. All three hospitals refused admission on the pretext that there was no vacant bed. We had to other option," said a family member.

Despite Supreme Court guidelines not to refuse patients, refusal cases in state run hospitals is rampant. Often patients are forced to hop from one hospital to another as they are denied admission due to scarcity of bed. Now the state health department has stepped in with a proposal to reduce the hospital refusal of emergency patients by setting up patient observation wards.

An expert committee was formed to assess the condition of emergency wards in state-run hospitals and also the reason for patient refusal. In its report submitted to the health department, the committee cited shortage of bed and lack of infrastructure behind such refusals. The report also said that incident of refusal was high in hospitals including the premier SSKM hospital.

Now government hospitals will have 40/50 bed observation wards each to tackle this problem. To begin with SSKM and Medical College and Hospital Calcutta are the two hospitals that will have this ward. If beds are not available in the hospital, patients who need immediate medical attention will kept in this ward under observation for 72 hours. During this period if the patient gets better would be discharged from there and then otherwise admit him/her when there is bed vacancy. Such wards will also be equipped with life saving medicine and equipment.

"It is a good move. But the move will fail if such wards do not have sufficient number of senior doctors. As it stands now, more than 90% of those who man the emergency wards are junior doctors and house staffs. Therefore unless quality manpower mans such ward, there will be chaos and confusion that could lead to bigger problems," said a junior doctor at SSKM.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/14097379.cms

[debayanlahiri]

For the 8000 thalassemia patients in the city, here's a piece of good news. Continuing with its policy of using unutilized space in government hospitals, the state health department has planned an "in-patient unit" for thalassemia patients at the Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital in Salt Lake. The 100-bed hospital could accommodate 30-40 beds for blood transfusion of those afflicted with the disease.

"We are about to put forward a proposal to utilize available space at the hospital. The space available could be used for blood transfusion of thallasemia patients. There aren't enough government facilities in the city. So, this would help patients and make sure that the additional space available at hospital is put to use," said Tridib Banerjee, chairman of the task force for infant mortality.

Bidhannagar Hospital is not among those brimming with patients. Around 30% of its beds remain unoccupied. The building, too, is in need of repairs and renovation. The thalassemia unit will help to hasten transfusion for the city's 8000 patients who have to depend on three government hospitals - NRS Medical College, RG Kar Medical College and Calcutta Medical College Hospital. Even though every district hospital is supposed to be armed with the facility, many are not competent to handle tranfusions. As a result, the three Kolkata hospitals are over-burdened.

Thalassemia patients and their families have been forced to form donor groups to arrange for blood and transfusions in Kolkata. "We need more government facilities for thalassemia in the city and its surroundings. Since a major portion of the blood collected from donation camps go to thalassemia patients, we need more camps as well. In recent years, there has been a sharp drop in the number of camps and it's time for the health department to step in," said D Ashish of Medical Bank, an NGO which helps thalassemia patients procure blood.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/14094392.cms

[soumalya747]

West Bank Hospital. (Opening by Puja 2012)








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[Sumanb]

Isn't a hospital with the same name operating in Howrah for many years?

[raj145_91]

Originally Posted by soumalya747

West Bank Hospital. (Opening by Puja 2012)

Where is this?

[Suncity]

Is it the one on Andul Road in what was the Bhaboghure Home?

[Suncity]

GPT Healthcare plans multi-speciality hospital in N. Kolkata

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...ref=wl_opinion

GPT Healthcare Pvt Ltd, which runs the chain of ILS Hospitals, will set up a 130-bed multi-speciality hospital. With an investment of nearly Rs 100 crore, the hospital will come up at Nager Bazar in North Kolkata.

Owned by Kolkata-headquartered Rs 600 crore GPT Group, the company currently has one 85-bed hospital in Kolkata and a 200-bed hospital in Agartala, Tripura.

The Nager Bazar unit, GPT Healthcare’s third hospital in the country, is likely to be operational by November.

[soumalya747]

Originally Posted by raj145_91

Where is this?

This hospital is coming up near College road and Shalimar Station on Andul Road.

[soumalya747]

Originally Posted by Sumanb

Isn't a hospital with the same name operating in Howrah for many years?

Yup. The old one is located near Andul which is quite far from 2nd hoogly bridge.

[Sumanb]

ok, so another new unit, that's good.

[samrat_m]

Good news for Kolkata
http://www.telegraphindia.com/112071...y_15709141.jsp

City pips others to host top doc test

Forty-five physicians from across south Asia are taking a test in Calcutta for a permit to treat patients across the world.

The clinical part of the examination for Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP) is being held in the city for the first time.

In India, the first clinical examination for MRCP was held in Chennai in 2007. “We wanted to geographically spread the examination centres and so looked for places in other parts of India,” Lawrence McAlpine, the chairman of MRCP international examinations, told Metro on Monday.

“We had also surveyed the examination facilities in Delhi and Mumbai but found Calcutta’s to be better. Also, there are adequate qualified doctors in Calcutta who can act as local examiners,” McAlpine pointed out.

McAlpine is leading a six-member examiners’ team that has come down to Calcutta from the UK.

The three-day test started on Monday and is being held at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals following an MoU signed by the Bypass facility and the authorities of the UK-based royal colleges.

“The 45 doctors appearing for the clinical test became eligible for it after clearing two written exams,” said Debasis Ghosh, the chief federation examiner for MRCP in India.

Apart from Bengal and other parts of India, doctors from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are taking the examination.

One has to be a Fellow of Royal Colleges of Physicians (FRCP) to become an examiner.

Sources said Calcutta’s geographical proximity to several SAARC countries was also one of the reasons for the MRCP authorities to choose Calcutta. “In March we conducted a survey and finalised Calcutta,” said McAlpine.

[samrat_m]

City lab for advanced virus test

Facility at School of Tropical Medicine
SANJAY MANDAL
Bengal is set to have its own laboratory to detect and study the mutating avian influenza virus and some other microbes responsible for “unknown fevers” and epidemics.

The “advanced bio-safety” laboratory at the School of Tropical Medicine will store dangerous viruses, including H5N2 that causes avian flu.

It is being set up with help from experts at the Indian Council of Medical Research and Rs 1crore grant from the Centre under the National Rural Health Mission.

“The facility will start functioning by the end of the year. Some of the deadly viruses and bacteria causing epidemics in Bengal and other parts of the region will be stored and tested here,” Krishnangshu Roy, the director of the school, said on Sunday.

He said the laboratory would be involved in the detection and study of microbes causing avian flu, Japanese encephalitis and other vector-borne diseases, as well as some unknown viruses. Entomological studies, too, will be carried out there.

“Tests for dengue, chikungunya, encephalitis and AIDS are done at the school. The new laboratory will be involved in more advanced research and will employ modern methods of detecting viruses,” said Roy.

“Influenza viruses are extremely mutative and can change character any time, leading to fresh outbreaks of diseases like bird flu and swine flu. So, continuous monitoring of viruses is a must, and for that we need an advanced laboratory like the one being set up at the School of Tropical Medicine,” said a virologist working with the state health department.

The health department now sends samples to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, which functions under the Indian Council of Medical Research, for tests related to “unknown fevers” or other viral and bacterial attacks reaching epidemic proportions.

Last November, blood samples of several persons suffering from “unknown fevers” in Calcutta had been sent to the Pune facility.

In 2008, the health department had sent blood samples to Pune and a similar centre in Bhopal during an outbreak of bird flu in several districts of the state.

“It takes 10-15 days after sending samples to Pune to get the reports. Besides, it’s hazardous to send samples by air,” said Roy. “And since the Pune hub is flooded with samples from across the country, the reports often come late.”

Many of the problems will be solved once the city facility is up and running, though it will not be on a par with the Pune one.

“The range of viruses tested at the National Institute of Virology is much wider than what the Calcutta facility can handle,” said an official.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112081...p#.UCjf_J3ZAQY

[AmitavaGhosh]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/15539934.cms

KOLKATA: The health secretariat has decided to introduce the biometric fingerprint attendance system among only senior officials and doctors of all government hospitals and medical colleges in the initial phase. The Group-D employees have been exempted from the first phase fearing an adverse reaction.

"We had started biometric attendance of Group-A officers at the health secretariat from April 2 this year as a pilot project. Initially, officials were not happy with the move. But with time, we found that all were complying with it," said Susanta Bandyopadhyay, director, medical education and ex-officio secretary of the health department.

"We will include all categories of officials and personnel in this biometric attendance mechanism. But it will be done in a phased manner. If we include the Group-D and paramedical employees initially, there is bound to be severe resistance which might affect the whole project," added Bandyopadhyay.

In any medical college or hospital, the Group-A employees consist of the principal, medical superintendent, deputy superintendent, nursing superintendent, deputy nursing superintendent, medical officers and departmental heads, while those in group-D are nurses, paramedics and contractual employees. Sources in the health department said that the number of Group-D employees is almost double that of Group-A.

For example at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital with 1250 beds have 462 doctors including professors and medical officers. There are 530 nurses, 407 Group - D employees, 301contractual employees. The situation is similar at almost all hospitals.

"We have initially asked the authorities of SSKM Hospital, Burdwan Medical College and MR Bangur Hospital to keep the list of employees, to be monitored by the biometric machine, ready within the next ten days. The training will start as soon as possible," said Asit Biswas, spokesperson of the health department.

"Other hospitals and medical colleges will be asked to follow suit. A vendor has already been assigned to carry out the installation and operation of the biometric attendance tracking machines once the list is drawn up," added Biswas.

Medical colleges will have four biometric attendance machines at a cost of Rs 1, 64, 000. The maintenance cost of Rs 2, 47,000 for the first two years have already been allocated, said a health department official.

Medical colleges welcome the moved. "This system will help us curb the rampant practice of not coming to work but yet signing the register," said a senior administrator of a city medical college.

"If the biometric attendance system includes nursing and paramedical employees, specially the Group-D staff in the first phase, then there will be a lot of hue and cry. So to set an example, the Group-A officers are being included in the first phase," explained the medical superintendent of a city medical college.

Members of the Trinamool Congress-backed West Bengal Health Employees Association said that while they were not against the idea of biometric attendance, there were loopholes in the system.

"We welcome the move but the system has a lot of loopholes. Considering the various shifts of our members, this is best suited for those who are seated at the office and not for those who work in the wards," said Tapan De, general secretary West Bengal Health Employees Association.

Apprehensive of severe resistance from a section of junior employees of health department against introduction of biometric finger print attendance system, health secretariat has decided to go ahead with initial attendance monitoring of only senior officials and doctors at all hospitals and medical colleges, leaving nursing and paramedical personnel out of scanner, for the time being by end of August.

"We had started the biometric attendance of group-A officers at health secretariat from April 02, 2012, as a pilot project. Initially there were rumblings against the move amongst all the officials, but with time we found that all were complying," said Susanta Bandyopadhyay, director, medical education and ex-officio secretary of health department.

"We will include all categories of officials and personnel in this biometric attendance mechanism. But it will be done in a phased manner. If we include the group-D and paramedical employees initially, there is bound to be severe resistance which might affect the whole project," added Bandyopadhyay.

At a medical college or district hospital, Group -A official includes administrative heads like principal, medical superintendent, deputy superintendent, nursing superintendent, deputy nursing superintendent, medical officers and departmental heads. Health department sources revealed that the number of nursing, paramedical personnel and contractual employees are almost double that of group -A officers.

For example at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital with 1250 beds have 462 doctors including professors and medical officers. There are 530 nurses, 407 Group - D employees, 301contractual employees. The situation is similar at almost all hospitals.

"We have initially asked the authorities of SSKM Hospital, Bardhamaan Medical College and MR Bangur Hospital, to ready up the list of employees to be included in the list of biometric machine within next ten days. The training will start as soon as possible," said Asit Biswas, spokesperson of health department.

"After this all the other hospitals and medical colleges will be asked to ready the list and a vendor has already been assigned to carry out the installation and operation of the biometric attendance tracking machines after these hospitals are done with, " added Biswas. According to health department sources, medical colleges will have four biometric attendance machines at a cost of rupees 1, 64,000 and maintenance cost of rupees 2, 47,000 for first two years have already been allocated.

"The proposal is to include all the employees at hospitals to bring accountability. This has been observed and we want to track the rampant practice of not coming and signing the register," said a senior administrator of a city medical college.

"If the bio-metric attendance system being launched includes employees of nursing and paramedical specially the Group-D employees at the first phase, then there will be a hue and cry. So, to set an example, the group -A officers are being included in the first phase," explained a medical superintendent of a city medical college. Meanwhile, members of Trinamool Congress Backed West Bengal Health Employees Association said that they were not against the idea of biometric attendance.

" We welcome the move but the system has a lot of loopholes ,considering the various shifts of our members work. It is best suited for those who are seated at the office and not those who work in the wards, " said Tapan De, general secretary West Bengal Health Employees Association.
This can really be a game changer, if executed properly.

[Rajarshi77]

Originally Posted by AmitavaGhosh

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/15539934.cms

KOLKATA: The health secretariat has decided to introduce the biometric fingerprint attendance system among only senior officials and doctors of all government hospitals and medical colleges in the initial phase. The Group-D employees have been exempted from the first phase fearing an adverse reaction.

Good move. Hope they work. I remember somebody (probably Chidambaram) introduced this in North Block in Delhi. It worked for sometime and then somehow most of the machines started malfunctioning.

[samrat_m]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/112082...p#.UDIRWd3ZAQY

Robodoc steps into the OT



A four-armed robot is on a mission to save lives in Calcutta, lending the cutting edge to complicated surgeries where the surgeon’s hand sometimes cannot match the precision of his brain.

Robot-assisted surgeries are being conducted frequently at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals on the Bypass after a successful first attempt a few months ago.

Doctors say the Rs 15-crore robot is a reassuring presence in the operating theatre, enabling them to attempt procedures that would have otherwise been risky.

One of Robodoc’s hands wields a camera that sends high-definition 3D images to a monitor where they are magnified 15 times.

“The image of a blood vessel, magnified 15 times, gives me a view that a camera for standard laparoscopic procedures cannot offer. I can see clearly if a vessel is bleeding,” said consultant urologist Vinay Mahendra, who has used the robot in several complex surgeries.

Cameras used in standard laparoscopic surgery can provide 2D images that are magnified four times.

“With precision comes enhanced safety,” said Mahendra, part of a team of surgeons who went through three weeks of training on robotic surgery in the US.

Three of the robot arms hold scalpels and scissors. The wrists can turn 360 degrees, giving it the unique advantage of reaching otherwise inaccessible parts of the body.

“Other surgical instruments can be turned only by seven degrees,” said Shailesh Puntambekar, a Pune-based surgical oncologist.

Puntambekar was in the city recently to conduct a robot-assisted cancer surgery at Apollo Gleneagles. “In robotic surgery, the chances of human error and accident are minimal in comparison to other methods,” he said.

The prostate is one organ that is manually hard to access but the manoeuvrability of robot arms make it an easy task, Puntambekar said.

As of now, robotic surgery is mostly used for procedures in the abdominal region. “In head and neck cases and surgeries where access is superficial, robots are not widely used because of high costs,” said surgical oncologist Gautam Mukhopadhyay.

At Apollo Gleneagles, the cost of a robotic surgery ranges between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh. “We will soon use the robot for complex neurosurgeries, where precision is the key,” said Rupali Basu, CEO of the hospital.

[NiladriG]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/15863952.cms

The city may be facing its worst dengue outbreak. Two children have died at BC Roy Children's Hospital since Sunday night and many of the 20 kids admitted to the hospital with dengue are in critical condition.

As in Salt Lake, there seems to be a deliberate attempt to suppress dengue figures. The health department website pegs the number of dengue affected at 542 in Kolkata, but civic officials admit the real figure is far higher. More than 200 cases have been reported from Kasba, Garfa, Haltu and EM Bypass in the last four days alone, they said. To compare, 300-400 people were infected in the last major dengue outbreak in 2005, of whom 12 died.

A KMC borough chairman visited several hospitals and nursing homes in her area on Monday and allegedly asked them not to disclose dengue figures. "She asked the authorities not to press the panic button or share figures with anybody other than the KMC. Her message was very clear," said a civic official.

BC Roy authorities say they are yet to confirm dengue in the recent two deaths, but doctors acknowledged there were all the symptoms of 'dengue shock syndrome' that had killed a five-year-old at the hospital on Saturday. BC Roy is the only referral hospital for children in the state but it does not have facilities to test for the dengue virus. Samples have to be sent to NICED and the reports take up to a week to arrive.

On Sunday evening, a two-year-old died within half an hour of being brought to the hospital. Doctors said they couldn't confirm dengue for no test had been done. Less than 12 hours later, another child succumbed to high fever on Monday morning.

"We have sent the blood samples to NICED. Till the reports confirm dengue, we can't say that the babies had the disease. But the situation is indeed grim. Every day, scores of children are brought in with high fever and a substantial number have tested positive for dengue," said Dilip Pal, medical superintendent of the hospital.

[studdmanster]

it is because of the weather and hygene dept of KMC...baaper jonme tohh nala clean kore na!!

[niljee]

Kolkata becoming medical tourim hub

Sep 09, 2012
KOLKATA, India - Kazi Mohammed Hasima, a 44-year-old businessman from Bangladesh’s Chittagong district, first visited Kolkata in 2005 for a health check-up. A regular medical tourist since then, he is one of the many Bangladeshis crossing the border for better healthcare – a booming business in Kolkata.

Lack of quality healthcare in Bangladesh, geographical proximity to West Bengal and a common culture have made Kolkata a hub for medical tourists. To add to its advantage, services in the city are 30 per cent cheaper than in Vellore or Chennai.

While the total quantum of visitors from the neighbouring country could not be ascertained, unofficial estimates suggest city-based hospitals treat approximately 1,000 Bangladeshi patients a month.

People from the country visit for services ranging from regular health check-ups to super speciality surgeries, contributing nearly 15-20 per cent of the total patient traffic at private hospitals.

MEDICAL TOURISM

Almost all private hospitals have set up “international wings.” The aim is to tap patients through referral clinics in Bangladesh. Almost all have tie-ups with Bangladeshi doctors and healthcare facilities. A separate customer care facility is also available to overseas visitors at all major private hospitals in Kolkata.

Medica Superspeciality, located on the eastern fringes of the city, has tied up with several Bangladeshi doctors and clinics for referral cases.

Two-year-old Medica, that treats 200 Bangladeshi patients a month, has seen a 50 per cent growth during the last one year. Peerless Hospitals, also located in the eastern fringes of the city, has seen a 15 per cent surge in patients on an annual basis, its spokesperson said.

“Our hospital being a super specialty cardiac care centre gets approximately 10 per cent of its total patients (around 30 patients) a year,” Suyash Borar, chief operating officer B.M. Birla Heart research Centre, said.

CAPACITY ADDITIONS

At least three hospitals, Medica being one of them, are adding beds or building new facilities to cater to Bangladeshi patients

B.M. Birla Heart Research will add 50 beds to its existing capacity of 160 beds while Peerless Hospital expects to treat around 800 patients from Bangladesh this year. It treated 600 patients in 2011.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle3877810.ece

[studdmanster]

[samrat_m]

AMRI gets return ticket
- New board in place, govt nod to reopen diabetic clinic & lab

Calcutta, Oct. 14: Fire-ravaged AMRI Dhakuria has been granted permission to reopen its diabetic clinic and pathology laboratory under a reconstituted board that gives the hospital a new face and the Mamata Banerjee government reason to consider clearing the decks for the remaining facilities.

The promoters of the hospital, where 91 people choked to death during a blaze in the basement of Annexe I on December 9 last year, had written to the chief minister’s office around a fortnight back, seeking permission to reopen three facilities.

The list includes the main unit, whose licence the government had revoked on December 27 along with the units that were functioning for more than a fortnight after the fire.

“The group applied for permission to reopen the main unit along with Annexe II and a diabetic clinic opposite the main building. For a start, the government has agreed to allow the diabetic clinic and pathology laboratory to reopen,” a senior official at Writers’ said today.

.......................

Full story here http://www.telegraphindia.com/112101...p#.UHvmQ8UUkQg