Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday reminded doctors about the hours they were expected to serve at government hospitals and their commitment to treat patients.

“There is a government policy that senior doctors will be on duty for eight hours in state hospitals. I’m telling you with due respect. Do your job for the eight hours that have been allotted,” Mamata said.

The chief minister said some doctors turn up in the morning at hospitals and then leave to perform surgeries outside.

“We get information that some doctors turn up in the morning for duty, sign in using biometrics and then leave after two hours. They step out to perform private operations and some of them return (to hospitals),” Mamata said.

“I’m not saying this about everyone. We have fixed eight hours of duty. You can perform your private duties after this time. But not within these hours,” she said during a news conference at state secretariat Nabanna.

At the news conference, she announced the suspension of 12 doctors of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital in connection with the death of a young mother and the serious illness of three women after caesarean sections allegedly done by junior doctors in the absence of seniors.

The Telegraph reported on Thursday that after the incident, which took place between the night of January 8 and early hours of January 9, the state health department is trying to put a leash on government doctors carrying out private practice allegedly neglecting their duties.

The health department has recently issued a circular asking all government doctors who were not taking non-practising allowances and involved in private practice to seek a fresh no-objection certificate (NOC).

On Wednesday, the department sent out an instruction to doctors saying all teaching faculty members of West Bengal Medical Education Services and all medical officers of West Bengal Health Services intending to engage in private practice should apply to the director of health services and the director of medical education for an NOC by January 31.

While the chief minister spoke about eight hours of duty, a health department circular issued in February 2024 said each faculty member must render at least 42 hours (six days, Monday to Saturday) per week. “Each day they should work for seven hours,” the circular said.

Mamata said the Bengal government has taken several initiatives to address the demands of the state’s healthcare system including increasing beds in state-run hospitals, engaging more doctors and nurses and creating adequate infrastructure. But, she said, it is the responsibility of doctors to attend to patients.

“Manush er jiboner thekey toh boro kichhu na (Nothing is bigger than human life),” she said. “Service (to patients) is the biggest task for those who have signed up with health sciences and treatment. They have to treat patients on time with a human face.”

“Jader haathey shontan er jonmo hoy... jader haathey bhaggyo nirdharito hoy... jara jara dwaittyey chhilen... tara jodi shothik bhabey dwaittyo palon korten taholey hoyto ei maa ke bachano jeto (If those who are responsible for administering births, those
who decide the fate (of patients), had performed their duties responsibly, then the mother could have been saved),” Mamata said.

While holding a section of the medical college and hospital doctors responsible for Mamoni Ruidas’s death, Mamata said caesarean section procedures are performed by senior doctors.

“If you tell me to perform a caesarean section, I can’t. That’s not my job. The chief secretary can’t perform a caesarean section. He is the head of the civil administration. Even the health secretary is not a doctor,” Mamata said. “Patients will go to doctors in case of emergencies.”

The chief minister said the state’s allotment to health has gone up from a budget of ₹3,584 crore in 2010-11 to ₹20,195 crore now. She added that the improvement in health infrastructure in Bengal was unmatched by any other place.

There is no solace for the family that lost the woman and the child who lost his mother, and such families can raise their fingers at the existing health system, the chief minister said.

“There will be festivities, including Puja, Eid, Ganga Sager... Keu jodi money koren dwaittyo ta palon korben na sheta ki apnara justify kortey paaren? (If someone thinks they won’t shoulder their responsibilities (because of the festivities), can you justify this?), Mamata asked.