Dakshindari Hospital has received a set of new medical equipment. The inauguration of the machinery was done by minister and MLA Sujit Bose on January 26. The facility in Dakshindari, off VIP Road near Lake Town in northeast Kolkata, is aided by South Dum Dum Municipality.
The new set of equipment includes an X-ray machine, gear for eye check-up, an oxygen concentrator, three operation beds, blood and stool testing equipment and a hearse.
The outpatient department at the hospital has several doctors on the roster, including two general physicians, a skin specialist, an ENT specialist, a surgeon, two gynaecologists, two ophthalmologists, two cardiac surgeons, a paediatrician, an orthpaedic and four dentists. Most doctors are available for consultations twice a week. One has to buy a five-rupee coupon from the cash counter to get a patient checked. However, if a specialist doctor needs to be consulted the patient is charged Rs 50 per head.
"People in this area have been asking me about renovation of this health clinic in Dakshindari for a long time. Health is a big priority now for any government across the world. There is more to be done in terms of increasing beds and acquiring more equipment which will happen in due time,” Bose said.
“This establishment started out almost 30 years ago in 1999 as Usthi Foundation and was run by trustees of a Switzerland-based NGO. After the owners passed away, the health clinic was taken over by South Dum Dum Municipality in 2017,” said Mina Saha Mondal, head nurse at the hospital.
“However, no indoor services, such as surgeries, were done here once the municipality took over its administration. It has been more like a polyclinic, with just one medical bed for women in the labour room which is yet to be operational. Hospital staff and nurses are paid as casual staff under the South Dum Dum Municipality,” she explained.
Soma Sarkar, a staff member at the hospital, said: “The biggest advantage for local residents now will be not having to travel far to get basic amenities.”
The eye check-up machine to measure power and eye pressure. Pictures by Showli Chakraborty
Another staff member Tarak Das added that the first floor would soon be converted into cabins. “Patients would be admitted for surgeries once the operation theatre becomes fully functional. I hope that happens soon so that more people can avail themselves of health facilities here,” said Das.
Cleanliness within the premises of the hospital is a concern for the hospital authorities. Since it is located right next to the railway crossing on one side and a garbage dumpyard on another side, flies and mosquitoes have a free run.
“A garbage dump located right next to a hospital can be quite an eyesore for patients and doctors alike. The municipal authorities in the area need to look at this pressing problem at the earliest,” said Jhuma Saha, a local resident.
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