West Bengal has begun a new upgrade drive for five government medical colleges in Kolkata, with the Health Department seeking reports within a month on the repairs, cleanliness improvements and infrastructure changes required at each hospital. The move follows criticism over the condition of public medical facilities and a recent decision to transfer injured patients from government hospitals to a private facility.
Health Minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay held a meeting on Friday with the principals and medical superintendents-cum-vice-principals of the city’s five medical colleges. According to the report, the meeting examined whether government hospitals could provide services and maintain facilities to standards comparable with private hospitals.
Hospital authorities were asked to identify their specific infrastructure problems and propose measures for improvement. The review is expected to cover both the interior and exterior areas of the hospitals, as well as cleanliness and service quality. An official present at the meeting said the institutions had been asked to follow the framework of the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers, or NABH.
The discussion follows a controversy over the transfer of injured people being treated at Kolkata Medical College and Hospital and SSKM Hospital to a private hospital after the Chorbagan incident. Doctors’ organisations questioned the decision, arguing that government medical colleges represent the highest level of public healthcare infrastructure in the state. Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari had subsequently said that government medical colleges, including Kolkata Medical College, would be improved, while asking for time to complete the work.
The meeting identified several institution-specific requirements. At Kolkata Medical College, officials discussed the need to renovate the surgery building and the medicine department located in the MCH building. The hospital is considering selecting one building first for renovation and is expected to coordinate with the Public Works Department.
At National Medical College, the principal reportedly informed the minister that the institution does not have a mortuary. The meeting also discussed plans for new neuromedicine and neurosurgery departments and a proposed building behind the gynaecology department. The proposed structure is expected to accommodate the emergency and casualty departments. Although the hospital has an outpatient cancer service, officials also pointed to the absence of inpatient cancer-care infrastructure.
At NRS Medical College and Hospital, a new building has been constructed opposite the administrative building. Emergency services, medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, radiology and the blood bank are expected to move there. While some departments have already shifted, the emergency department has not yet been relocated, and that delay was discussed at the meeting.
Hostel infrastructure was also part of the wider discussion. The National Medicos Organisation separately raised concerns that hostel capacity had not kept pace with the increase in medical college seats. It said undergraduate students, house staff and postgraduate trainees were facing difficulties securing hostel accommodation and submitted a memorandum to the Director of Medical Education.
In a social media post after the meeting, Mukhopadhyay said the state was working towards a healthcare system that would be efficient, accessible and capable of meeting citizens’ needs. The immediate next step is for the five medical colleges to submit their assessments and proposed interventions within one month.
