Port opens its hospital to public, for a fee

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The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) Centenary Hospital is all set to open its indoor and outdoor facilities to the general public.

"The outdoor facility of the hospital will be available to the general public from April 14 and the indoor facility from May 8," KoPT chairman AK Chanda said.

"The general patients will have to pay a minimum of Rs 30 to the port doctors in the hospital, while visiting surgeons will have to be paid Rs 60," Chanda said. The indoor and outdoor facilities will be available everyday.

The intensive care unit (ICU) charges are Rs 1000 a day and the general ward Rs 160.

At present, there are about 40 port doctors and 43 visiting surgeons.

On the hospital's expansion plans, the chairman said, "In the next six months, we are going to add 64 beds." There are 104 beds with 8 ICUs at present.

"We are also planning to increase the number of doctors and nurses in the hospital in the next six months to match the number of beds," Chanda told reporters after inaugurating an 18-month training course for Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery (ANM).

"The course is sponsored by the West Bengal government. We are starting with a batch of 33 students. At the end of the course, they will be absorbed in different government hospitals," said Chanda.

The students will get a stipend of Rs 500 a month. "The government has given Rs 21 lakh to start the training programme, which is free. Students will also get hostel facility," he said.

"We plan to increase the number of students to 70 in the second year," Chanda said. The trainers are professional nursing teachers.

Health minister Surya Kanta Mishra, who was also present, said, "At present, we have 4000 ANM-trained nurses in the state. We want to increase the number to 12000-13000 very soon."