‘If anything happens, I’m responsible’: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee orders tighter security at government hospitals

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the state health department, including health secretary NS Nigam, and DGP Rajeev Kumar, district magistrates, superintendents of police, chief medical officers and others.

According to sources, the chief minister, who addressed the meeting over the phone, expressed concern that some events could be deliberately orchestrated to tarnish the image of the health department.

She told officials that if “something bad happens in a government hospital, the responsibility should fall on me,” and directed them to be extra vigilant so the government’s reputation could not be undermined.

She also pulled up the SSKM hospital authorities for the incident of alleged sexual assault on a girl, who was visiting the Kolkata hospital with her family members. The chief minister demanded answers from SSKM hospital authorities about how a former employee was able to enter the hospital and allegedly molest a girl, and expressed anger over the lapse, official said.

The hospital administrators have been asked to submit a report on the incident and on measures being taken to plug security gaps.

The chief minister also directed the health department to review the existing security arrangements in the hospitals and to strengthen them wherever necessary.

“This includes measures such as enhanced training for security personnel, installation and monitoring of CCTV cameras, and other infrastructural and administrative steps aimed at ensuring patient safety,” an official said.

“She emphasised that harassment of anyone coming for treatment will not be tolerated under any circumstances. She also directed the administration to adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards such offences,” the bureaucrat told PTI.

The health administration has been directed to ensure security for doctors, nurses, other medical staff and patients. All hospital staff, including contractual and temporary workers, must carry proper identity cards at all times so they can be easily identified, officials said.

The chief secretary also instructed that security personnel be in proper uniform, display ID and be monitored more closely.

Hospital sources and administrators said the staff would be briefed about the new measures and that efforts were already under way to procure and install additional cameras and to regularise ID issuance for temporary workers. The state government has also ordered an expansion of CCTV coverage across hospital premises.

Officials present at the meeting said that the district administrations would coordinate with hospital managements to implement the directives immediately, adding that the state would audit compliance and follow up with further action if required.

The health department will also work with police to review entry and visitor management systems at medical institutions.

The state government did not provide a timeline for full implementation, but officials said immediate steps would be taken to strengthen surveillance and access control.

Officials said that the meeting came against the backdrop of growing unease after several cases of molestation and assault reported at state-run hospitals in the past few months, and the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last year.

Earlier this month, in Howrah district’s Uluberia medical college, a junior woman doctor was allegedly molested and threatened with gangrape by relatives of patients. Later, police arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in the matter.