No child with a respiratory ailment can be referred to a hospital in Kolkata without ensuring that a bed is booked at the destination healthcare facility, the state health department said in an advisory issued on Tuesday.
The referral, if needed, must be done with the knowledge of the superintendent of the hospital.
“No paediatric ARI (acute respiratory infection) cases shall be referred without knowledge of the concerned MSVP/Superintendent. Referral cannot be done unless bed is ensured at the destination hospital,” the advisory says.
The health department will run a helpline — 1800 313444222 — around the clock where people can call to enquire about admission to hospitals or where to take a child for examination by a doctor.
In Tuesday’s advisory, the government asked all medical colleges, district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, superspeciality hospitals and state general hospitals across Bengal to run separate clinics for children with ARI in the paediatric outpatient department.
“The special clinic within the paediatric OPD will be meant for those with respiratory illness so they do not have to wait in the OPD queue with other patients,” an official said.
Besides the OPD clinics, all medical colleges and other hospitals have to run paediatric clinics for acute respiratory illness around the clock.
The advisory comes at a time when a large number of children suffering from viral infections and respiratory ailments are being taken to hospitals.
The health department has already asked hospitals in the districts to not refer children to the Dr BC Roy Post Graduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences, which is overburdened with patients.
A health department official said the government had upgraded hospitals in the districts and adequate facilities were available there for the treatment of children suffering from fever, cough and respiratory distress.
“This spike in viral infections happens every year. This did not happen in 2020 and 2021 as people did not step out because of Covid. There are enough facilities available in hospitals in districts to treat these patients,” the official said.
The state health department had on February 19 asked district hospitals to refer children to hospitals in Kolkata judiciously. The same message was repeated at a meeting on Monday.