Authorities of the North Bengal Medical College & Hospital (NBMCH) have expressed concern over the inadequate number of private security personnel on campus, admitting they did not have funds to engage additional security.

In north Bengal, NBMCH is the largest state-run medical college and referral hospital, spread over 104 acres. It caters to the population of north Bengal and neighbouring states of Bihar, Sikkim and Assam.

Sanjay Mallick, the medical superintendent of NBMCH, said that as of now, the campus was covered by 80 private security personnel and four supervisors.

“They work in three shifts, which means, around 25 to 28 persons work in each shift. This clearly shows that the current workforce is stretched thin. We are worried as to whether we can maintain the stipulated security standards, especially in critical areas such as the emergency ward, the ICU and other sections where hundreds of people walk in daily,” said Mallick.

Earlier this week, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, at an administrative meeting in Nabanna, had said that security should be stepped up in all the state-run medical colleges for the safety of doctors and other staff.

Mallick said most of the medical colleges in Calcutta and its suburbs had multi-storey buildings like RG Kar with fewer entry points.

“But NBMCH is spread over a vast area. There are at least seven entry points to different wards and sections. That is why we need around 80 security personnel in each shift to ensure that at least one of them is posted in a ward or a section,” he said.

“We, however, don’t have any option to engage more security personnel as we don’t have additional funds to bear the expenses,” the hospital superintendent added.

In NBMCH, private security personnel control the crowd, ensure the safety of doctors, other staff and patients and handle other emergencies.

In August, a meeting was held among the NBMCH authorities, the district magistrate and officials of Siliguri Metropolitan Police at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation to address the ongoing security concerns at the campus.

At the meeting, various security measures were discussed to improve the safety of the sprawling campus. One of the outcomes was the deployment of women police constables in NBMCH.

“A standard operating procedure (SOP) was recommended to the NBMCH authorities and personnel posted at the NBMCH police outpost. According to the SOP, a meeting would be held once a week to review campus security. All staff should carry ID cards for easy identification and CCTVs should be monitored weekly,” said a source.

As of now, around 15 women cops have been posted at the NBMCH ladies’ hostels.