The rot runs deep in West Bengal’s private health care system.
ON THE MORNING OF MARCH 15, SUNIL PATRA, a small businessman from West Bengal’s South 24 Paraganas district, met with a road accident in which his leg got severed. His family members rushed him to a well known private hospital in Kolkata, where he was allegedly denied treatment unless his family deposited Rs.50,000. Not being able to come up with that sort of money at short notice, his family took Patra to the State run SSKM Hospital, where he was admitted after much delay and paperwork at 10 p.m. It was too late, and his severed limb could not be rejoined. The private hospital denied knowledge of such a patient. For close to 11 hours, Patra suffered as his family and friends moved from pillar to post to get treatment.
The incident took place just 12 days after the Trinamool Congress government passed the West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Bill, 2017, to keep in check inhuman and unethical practices of private medical establishments in the State. Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had chastised representatives of private hospitals and nursing homes and urged them to take a more humane approach in dealing with patients. On March 16, Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi gave his formal nod to the Bill.
The very fact that such a piece of legislation had to be enacted is an indication of the state of health care in West Bengal. The legislation was prompted by an increasing number of complaints of harassment and malpractices in private health care facilities.
Denne historien er fra April 14, 2017-utgaven av FRONTLINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 14, 2017-utgaven av FRONTLINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
