Over a dozen doctors will join the existing team at the trauma care centre at SSKM Hospital to ensure better treatment of patients, the health department has decided.
The move came days after chief minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the state of services being rendered to patients at the super speciality centre.
Five medical officers from state-run hospitals in East and West Midnapore, North 24-Parganas, Birbhum and Hooghly have been asked to relocate after the health department released a formal order with the fresh posting of these doctors at the trauma care centre.
A list of at least a dozen more doctors has been readied and a notification will soon be issued detailing their appointment at the trauma care centre with their designations, senior officials in the health department said.
“The five new doctors will join the team that is deployed at the two critical care units (CCUs) spread across two floors of the trauma care centre. There are three CCUs, including one at the emergency with ventilation facility for very critically injured patients,” said a senior official of the Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) at the SSKM.
“More doctors for CCU will mean faster treatment and better shouldering of the load of critical patients.”
Inaugurated in 2019, the 11-storey trauma care centre is located at the northwest corner of the sprawling campus of SSKM Hospital. It can house 244 patients with 30 beds separately allocated for victims of natural causes, including disasters.
Senior doctors said the centre had been set up to facilitate immediate resuscitation, emergency life-saving surgeries, close monitoring, investigation and rehabilitation of patients post surgery.
On Thursday, Mamata had said she was sad to find the state of affairs after visiting the trauma care centre. Patients were being denied immediate treatment because too much time was lost in completing their admission procedures, she said while admitting the shortage of personnel.
Senior health department officials said that after the chief minister’s visit, the officials of SSKM were asked to draw up a list of healthcare personnel who were required immediately to address the issues at the trauma care centre and submit it to the health department.
Hours later Manimoy Bandyopadhyay, the institute’s director, had submitted the list after speaking to the team of doctors from at least five departments, including ear, nose, neck, maxillofacial and laryngeal trauma care units.
Late on Friday, Swasthya Bhavan issued a circular relocating five doctors to the trauma care centre. “They have been asked to join immediately and send a joining notice to the department,” said a senior official of the health department.
“These doctors will be deployed at the CCUs of the centre in the rank of medical officers.”
Hospital insiders said the trauma care unit presently has 25 medical officers who are assigned to work only for the centre.
A team of senior faculty members from different departments and post-graduate trainees join them regularly by turns to treat patients who are critically ill.