CM Mamata Banerjee playing with Bengal’s healthcare system, says Amit Malviya

Kolkata, July 2 (IANS) BJP’s Information Technology Cell Chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, on Wednesday, accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of playing with the healthcare system of the state. 

According to him, the common people in West Bengal are suffering because of rampant corruption in the Swasthya Sathi scheme, which is the state’s health insurance scheme, and also because of the referral rackets between state-run hospitals and private clinics.

Malviya issued a statement, which he posted on his official X handle, where he referred to a reported incident of a patient in Panihati, North 24 Parganas district. The patient reportedly suffered because the on-duty doctor at a state-run hospital advised him to contact his private chamber instead of attending to him there.

Malviya had also accused the said doctor of conducting an unnecessary operation on the same patient to claim money from the Swasthya Sathi scheme.

“A man went to Panihati State General Hospital for a routine hernia operation. But government doctor Biswajit Das told him to visit his private chamber instead. Just to claim money from the Swasthya Sathi scheme, he falsely diagnosed the patient with appendicitis and performed an appendix surgery instead!” Malviya said in his statement.

According to him, the Panihati event was not an isolated incident but a harsh reality in the healthcare system of West Bengal.

“On one hand, countless patients are being unnecessarily referred, pushing them towards death. On the other hand, the Swasthya Sathi card is often unusable and doesn’t cover most real ailments enabling dishonest doctors to exploit the system and endanger innocent lives. How many more lives will be ruined before this system is held accountable?” Malviya questioned.

The Swasthya Sathi scheme has been in the midst of controversy for a long time. The Chief Minister and her government are often accused of deliberately disallowing the central health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, just to push the Swasthya Sathi scheme.

Last month, controversies surfaced after Saraju Nursing Home at Sinthi in North Kolkata, which is owned by Trinamool Congress legislator from Serampore Assembly constituency in Hooghly district, Dr Sudipto Roy, rejected free treatment facilities under the Swasthya Sathi card held by a patient admitted there.