Medical associations question Bengal Govt’s permission to private bodies to run nursing schools

Kolkata : Medical associations have started questioning the West Bengal Government’s decision to allow private entities to open nursing schools in state-run medical colleges and hospitals and also in state-run super speciality hospitals.

As per a recent guideline issued by the West Bengal Health Department, a proposal has been floated to start nursing schools in those medical colleges and super speciality hospitals that are located in remote areas of the state.

Interested private entities have been asked to come forward to open the nursing schools and use the infrastructure of the hospitals. Opposing the move, the general secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors, Manas Gumta said that the state government was acting on its whims while taking decisions involving the health sector.

“Earlier, they encouraged setting up of medical colleges and hospitals in a rampant manner even though there was no requirement for it. Now they have decided to allow private entities to run nursing training schools from the premises of state-run health entities. I wonder what their next step will be,” he said.

A section within the state health department, too, has questioned the justification for the fresh guidelines on nursing schools.

According to them, when the state government has not been able to accommodate all those passing out from different state-run nursing colleges, what was the justification for allowing private entities to open more nursing schools.