In the backdrop of violence at a private hospital in the city following the death of a patient, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said next week she would hold a meeting with the authorities for a review of the policies.
"On February 22 I will meet authorities of private hospitals and those following government system of operations... This will a meeting on the policy-decision of the hospitals," Banerjee told reporters at the state Secretariat today.
The Chief Minister also stated that holding a meeting with the hospital authorities was not the business of the state Consumer Affairs & Self Help Group & Self-Employment department.
"This is a policy decision meeting and the Consumer Affairs department has nothing to do in it... He (Minister Sadhan Pandey) has mistakenly said that he will meet the private hospital authorities," Banerjee said.
Pandey, who had yesterday said that he would call for a meeting with the private hospital authorities to discuss excessive billing issue today cancelled it.
"When the Chief Minister has called a meeting there is no need for me to hold anything," Pandey said.
Earlier in the day, Banerjee criticising the incident of a mob ransacking a private hospital in the city after the death of a girl patient there, questioned, "What is the need to ransack nursing homes? I will talk to the nursing home authorities and take a decision. I will talk to them so that they function smoothly."
Describing the health services in the state as the "best" in the country, Banerjee said state-run hospitals offer free treatment, including free MRIs and insertion of stents at no cost.
"In the last five years, 25,000 to 30,000 beds in various hospitals have been increased. We have redefined the entire infrastructure of different hospitals in the state. In fact, heart surgeries, MRI all have been made free.
I am proud to say that the health services offered at various state-run hospitals are the best".
Claiming that deaths of children in the state have also gone down, Banerjee said that under the Trinamool Congress government, 300 Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs), Mothers' Milk Bank, Mother and Child Hub have been set up besides, besides taking up schemes like 'Sabujsree', 'Kanyasree', 'Yuvasree' and 'Khadya Sathi'.
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