Bengal’s apex referral hospital had to refer a patient to another hospital at 8.30am because there were “no empty beds”.

Normality resumed at SSKM Hospital on Tuesday following the withdrawal of a seven-day strike by junior doctors, which had been called to protest the assault on two interns after the death of an elderly patient there.

With the full strength of doctors having been restored in the emergency department and the wards, lack of enough beds bared the warts in the government health-care system.

Ritwik Sarkar’s family members looked at the doctors in disbelief when they said the patient had to be referred

to another hospital because there were no empty beds at SSKM.

The 17-year-old had met with a bike accident about six months back and suffered neurological disorder that crippled his limbs and left him speechless.

The family ran out of money after spending Rs 30 lakh on his treatment at the Institute of Neurosciences Kolkata and brought him to SSKM in the hope that a bed would be available at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences.

The emergency ward of the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences functions from SSKM Hospital.

“After we arrived at SSKM around 8.30am, doctors at the emergency ward said lack of empty beds had left them with no option but to refer Ritwik to another hospital,” said Palash Sarkar, Ritwik’s maternal uncle.

Ritwik was stretchered out of the ambulance and placed on the floor in front of the patient assistance booth adjoining the emergency ward. The ordeal that started would continue for more than eight hours before he would finally be admitted following the intervention of a senior official at the hospital.

“I kept requesting doctors at the emergency ward to assess my son’s condition and admit him. But they ignored our plea and kept telling us to take him to another hospital,” Ritwik’s mother Rekha said.

The family members at one point took Ritwik on a stretcher to the outpatient department, hoping that a doctor’s recommendation might help them get a bed for him.

“A doctor did recommend admission but doctors at the emergency ward refused to budge,” alleged Rekha.

“Out of desperation I got in touch with a senior at my place of work. He knew a senior official at SSKM. Thanks to the official’s recommendation, my son finally got a bed around 6pm,” she said.

Abdus Odud, 22, a resident of Suti in Murshidabad, had come to SSKM with critical head injuries. Family members said Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital had referred Abdus to SSKM on Monday night.

Brother Ashraful said Abdus was admitted soon after they arrived at the emergency ward but only on paper.

“They cited shortage of bed. With his head bandaged, Abdus had to lie on the floor for hours. He was groaning in pain,” Ashraful said.

Abdul’s wait ended around 4pm, when a Group D employee came with a stretcher to take him to the ward.

The fact that Abdus had been referred to SSKM only reflects the pressure Bengal’s tertiary health-care system has to cope with in the absence of adequate facilities at the primary and secondary health-care system.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had referred to the massive hike in the health budget during her interaction with junior doctors at Nabanna on Monday but the fact remains she has still a lot to do to lessen the pressure on the tertiary health-care system.

The absence of proper facilities at district hospitals puts so much strain on the tertiary facilities that the state’s biggest referral hospital is being forced to refer a patient to another hospital.