Locked AMRI still in govt health scheme

The health department cancelled the clinical establishment licence of AMRI Dhakuria soon after the fire,and the hospital continues to be under lock and key. However,nine months after the tragedy,the health department has not cancelled AMRI’s name from the list of private nursing homes under the health scheme.

The matter came to light when the industrial reconstruction department wrote a letter to the health department asking it to furnish the “present status of the hospital and whether the department has issued clinical establishment license,too,as the name of the hospital is still under the enlisted list of hospitals under the West Bengal Health Scheme”. The letter was a wake-up call for the health department.

Sanjoy Mitra,principal secretary,health,said that he was unaware that AMRI was still enlisted under the West Bengal Health Scheme. The department had not yet decided to renew AMRI’s license,he said. They will soon write a letter to the industrial reconstruction department about the present status of the hospital,he added.

Chandrima Bhattacharya,MOS,health,said,“I am unaware of the matter. But we have not yet decided to open AMRI’s Dhakuria unit. If the name is still in the list (under the scheme),we will definitely cancel it.”

Senior officials of the health department confirmed that they had not given AMRI a clinical establishment license,although recently some officials of AMRI Dhakuria spoke with the health authorities and expressed their willingness to open the unit. The health officials asked them to provide the relevant documents along with a fire license renewal from the fire department.

The West Bengal Health Scheme was initiated by the previous Left Front government in 2008. It entitled all government employees from Group A to D to medical benefits. The children,minor brothers,minor sisters,and parents of the beneficiaries also get benefits if they fulfill certain conditions.

According to figures from the finance department,around 2.5 lakh government employees are entitled to benefits under the scheme. Of them,around 5,000 employees have availed themselves of the benefits from AMRI Hospital’s Dhakuria unit.