The critical care unit (CCU) of Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital, that was inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in February, is now ready to admit patients. MLA and minister Sujit Bose declared it open to the public on Wednesday.
“Our chief minister had already inaugurated this unit before the Assembly elections. However, a few technical details had to be taken care of before we could start admitting patients.” said Bose. “Today we are ready to do that with four doctors and about 40 nursing and attending staff at the hospital. At present six beds will be functional while four more beds and two private cabins will be added within a couple of months.”
Also present were Smritikana Mani, administrative head of OSD (on special duty) nursing department at Swastha Bhavan, ward co-ordinators Rajesh Chirimar and Ratna Bhowmick. Bose also felicitated the doctors and other staff deployed at the unit with flowers.
Partha Pratim Guha, the superintendent of the hospital, said: “The beds could not be opened to the public earlier because of the election season. We are happy that we are finally ready but we still need to add curtains on all sides of the beds and install 24 CCTV cameras for this unit.”
Dr Subhra Bhattacharya, the anchor at the event, said: “The planning for this unit began as early as 2015, when the chief minister paid a surprise visit to the hospital on her way to an official function. She met Bose and other officials and asked for a list of features that needed to be implemented here. Within days, work began on the project.”
A total of Rs 30 lakh has reportedly been spent for the project. Another Rs 9 lakh has been promised by the minister for curtains and CCTV cameras. A dialysis unit is also expected to open soon. Other than the population of Salt Lake, the services at this hospital are used by about a lakh more patients from surrounding areas like Rajarhat and New Town on a daily basis.
The minister also praised the vaccination drive conducted by the doctors and staff of the Bidhannagar Subdivisional Hospital. More than one lakh people have been vaccinated here and more are expected to be vaccinated in the coming months.
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