Joint Platform of Doctors, WB writes to the Chief Minister

Date:- 3rd November,2023.

To
Smt Mamata Banerjee
The Hon’ble Chief Minister
Nabanna, Howrah, West Bengal.

Sub:– Protest against your abominable vitriolic attack on Govt Health System and doctors at large during Press Meet dt 1.11.23 at Nabanna.

Madam,

The Joint Platform of Doctors,WB feels deeply pensive about your complicated course of recent ailment related to knee joint and wish your speedy complete recovery at its earliest.

But it is immensely painful to hear your recent unfortunate statement during the press meet, the spirit of which has sorrily made a contumelious attack on Govt Health System, that too about the SSKM Hosp, the Centre of Medical Excellence in our state and the trusted apex shelter for the marginalized ailing mass in the community.

It may be expected by the civil society and the doctors community at large that you have the enough knowledge regarding the prevailing prescribed principles of rule of law and about the proper grievance redressal forums( like State Med Council/ Health Regulatory Commission/ Consumer Court etc) while lodging a complaint by any aggrieved patient/ party against any institution or treating medical team. Instead you, before the availability of appropriate report of any detailed technical investigation, , have publicly and that too in an unbecoming manner arrived at an instant conclusion that your recent treatment went in wrongful direction for which you had to suffer a lot, thus reflecting your sad outlook to Govt Health System. It is simultaneously very much shocking that the competent appellate bodies in the state failed to initiate suo moto case against such gruesome allegation made by the administrative chief in the state and if they fail to act as per rule of law, the general public across the state will lose their right to know the real truth in the instant case. We therefore want a thorough transparent enquiry on the allegations under strict adherence to existing norms and let the truth get revealed at the earliest.

It is worth mentioning here that in a similar way you have delivered publicly a bunch of undesirable talks in 2017 at Town Hall which had subsequently led to series of disastrous fallouts upon the safety of doctors for years together.

We express our serious apprehension this time too that by your aforesaid public statement,which already went viral , may beget crisis of confidence on public health system and may rapidly permeate amongst the marginalized ailing mass in the society and via an immense inspiration from your statement, a section of people in the society and the hoodlums may feel instigated to infringe undesirable attacks and humiliation upon the doctors in the community out of several trivial events in service delivery system as a whole. And at the same time, your unfortunate statement may influence the hapless people at large to perceive a compelling sense of necessity to move to private institutions for seeking care with a resultant catastrophic expenditure in their families, thus helping to infuse an additional bolus of profit to these big 0corporate establishments at the cost of deliberate drying of public sector hospitals.

It is further disappointing to intimate you that Sri Kunal Ghosh, the chief spokesman of ruling political party in this state, in a popular talk show dt 30.10.23 in leading electronic media, placed a generalised allegation of nefarious corruption in the form of commision/ cutmoney by doctors working in Pvt sectors within our state which is enough to demean and challenge the ethical integrity of majority of doctors. Minimal aberration may be there like all other professions amidst the prevailing corrupt environment in the society and it is the responsibility of State Medical Council to take appropriate measures in this regard.

Now in this entire backdrop, we urge upon your good sense to pay additional care so as to refrain from making such inappropriate statements, devoid of desired sense of responsibility, in future and we further appeal that the necessary instruction may please be circulated from the chair of the hon’ble Chief Minister to all the political leaders irrespective of party to immediately stop making any ugly generalized derogatory remarks on this noblest profession,failing which will invite an impending doom for the society at large, the onus of which will lie flat upon none other than the Govt itself.

Thanking you in anticipation

Dr Punyabrata Gun
Dr Hiralal Konar
Jt Convenors
The Joint Platform of Doctors,WB.