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Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Med tourism takes a hit, B'desh patient inflow slides to 10% of what it was a yr ago
1 2 Kolkata: It's been a year since Bangladesh went into turmoil, stemming the flow of patients to Kolkata hospitals even as travel restrictions were imposed. The number of patients from the neighbouring country has slid to just 10% of what it was a year ago, though some private hospitals have seen a marginal rise in numbers since April. With visas still being issued slowly, the situation is not likely to improve soon, they felt. Some are actively exploring opportunities to expand reach beyond Bangladesh to fill up the void. Peerless Hospital now receives 15-20 Bangladeshi patients a day at its OPD. The number was 150 on average until a year ago. Admissions are rare. "Patients are apparently still finding it difficult to secure health visas to travel to Kolkata. Visas are probably being processed slowly, which has kept the number of patients low for a year now," said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra. Charnock Hospital, too, has seen a sharp drop. "Some patients do trickle in. But it's nothing like before. And my guess is this will take a long time to revive," said Charnock managing director Prashant Sharma, also the chairperson of Health Committee of Indian Chamber of Commerce. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata At RN Tagore Hospital (RTIICS), number of Bangladeshi patients has dipped by 75% over the last year. "If we compare June 2024 numbers to June 2025 numbers, it is down to a fourth of what we would get," said Narayana Hospitals COO R Venkatesh. Bangladesh records 70% of India's medical travellers. Some hospitals have witnessed a slow footfall rise since April, though. Manipal Hospitals have witnessed a partial recovery. Ayanabh Debgupta, regional COO — Manipal Hospitals (East), stated: "Due to recent political developments in Bangladesh, many who wished to travel to India for medical care were facing delays. This situation is gradually easing, allowing more patients to access the care they need. Currently, we are issuing an average of 250 to 300 medical visa letters per day across all Manipal Hospitals in Eastern India. Since April, we have observed a steady rise in patient inflow from Bangladesh, with an average monthly footfall of approximately 3,000 to 3,500 patients — around 40% of whom are new registrations." The recent launch of Ayush portal by the Centre has streamlined medical visa process. Desun Hospital has been witnessing a steady rise in footfall of Bangladeshi patients since April 2025, with OPD figures achieving nearly 90% of footfall it saw before trouble started in Bangladesh last year. Ruby General Hospital, which received around 800 patients a month from Bangladesh a year ago, now gets around 400. "It has improved in last two months but is still half of what we would get," said general manager (operations) Subhasish Datta.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
90% plaints against private hosps this yr about billing
Kolkata: Around 90% of the 2,058 complaints against private hospitals, nursing homes and other clinical establishments—this works out to be nine out of 10 complaints—that reached the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission this year till May pertain to billing issues. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Most of the complaints we received pertain to billing, making it important to make the billing system transparent. While our order was in the form of an advisory, the govt's move will make it a law," said WBCERC chairperson Ashim Kumar Banerjee. The advisory Banerjee mentioned was the one issued by the health panel in 2020, asking private facilities to set up display boards with details, such as package, rates for OPD, bed, doctor fees. The Bengal govt on Monday moved a bill in the state assembly, seeking to make it mandatory for private health facilities not to inflate their fixed treatment rates, including packages, with hidden charges. The bill says for treatment costs not covered under fixed rates, the patient party must be informed of the possible costs and any rise must be communicated within 24 hours. The bill mandates that the rates must be properly displayed at hospitals and on websites. While private hospitals appreciated the state decision to move to The West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) (Amendment) Bill 2025, they said they hoped it would be practical. "This is a good move by the govt as there needs to be some form of regulation, especially in the billing part so that hidden charges are not extracted from patients," said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Most private hospitals in Kolkata have boards displaying charges on certain packages, bed charges, doctor fees, OPD rates. But hospitals pointed out it was not possible to display all the charges, especially those of tests, that numbered beyond 2,000. "Due to these billing disputes, the public has a negative idea about private hospitals. We are yet to know the nitty-gritty of this move, but such a step towards making transparent billing is welcome," said Subhashis Datta, GM (operations), Ruby General Hospital. In the bill, the state has also tried to address the inordinate delay in issuing or renewing licences to private hospitals, proposing to cap it at 90 days. "We don't want private facilities to suffer for the want of licence renewal unnecessarily. If they don't get a renewed licence from the department within 90 days, it can be extended for 90 more days. This is a temporary measure. We have brought an amendment with more stringent measures, under which the govt will ensure the licence application will be disposed of within the period," said Chandrima Bhattacharya, junior health minister.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Private hosps step up screening, isolation measures amid concerns over new variants
Kolkata: Private hospitals across Kolkata have started stepping up Covid screening and preventive measures as two new Covid variants were traced in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Doctors in Kolkata have advised caution following an alert from WHO, as some fear a rise in transmissibility. Two more tested positive at a govt hospital on Monday. Two private hospitals and a nursing home in Kolkata now have Covid patients. Manipal Hospitals are 'proactively reinforcing infection control protocols' across all its five units. "We are ready with dedicated isolation rooms to manage any suspected or confirmed cases that require clinical segregation. We have 500 critical care beds across all our units, along with round-the-clock support from our emergency and critical care department," said Tanmay Banerjee, senior consultant and director of critical care, Medica Superspecialty Hospital, a Manipal unit. "Public awareness remains crucial at this hour, and we urge individuals to continue following basic preventive measures. There is a need for alertness and responsible behaviour to collectively safeguard community health," added Banerjee. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like USDJPY đang đi lên không? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Peerless Hospital, which has a Covid patient now admitted, has earmarked three isolation beds. "We have stepped up screening with all fever patients and those with symptoms or travel history being tested for Covid. Since Saturday, when one tested positive, we have no new case. In case of a spike, we are ready to convert an entire ward into an isolation unit," said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipto Mitra. BP Poddar Hospital is in the process of implementing 'several precautionary measures' including more frequent routine disinfection, enforcing mandatory mask usage within the premises, and installing additional hand sanitisation kiosks throughout the hospital. "We have also expanded our patient waiting area to minimise crowding. In addition, we are planning to reinstate our dedicated isolation ward. Patients with recent domestic or international travel history who present with fever and require hospitalisation will be kept under close observation," said Supriyo Chakraborty, group advisor of BP Poddar. Charnock Hospital has started rapid antigen tests for suspected Covid patients at its emergency. It has also set up an isolation area. "We have alerted our laboratory, which is ready to revive PCR tests. We have started testing suspected cases, though none has yet tested positive. The isolation area is a small one, which will be extended if necessary," said Charnock emergency head Nishant Agarwal. Desun Hospital has put pre-emptory protocols in place to ensure that both medical and non-medical staff adhere to the guidelines, said group director Shaoli Dutta. "Both our hospitals in Kolkata and Siliguri are in the process of identifying rooms to set up isolation facilities and screening areas within the premises to manage suspected cases. We are increasing sanitisation efforts, with focus on high-contact areas," added Dutta. Techno India DAMA Hospital has set up a separate OPD designated as a flu/fever clinic. "We have a separate ward with 10 beds to accommodate respiratory cases that need monitoring. Respiratory care specialists and the critical care team are on standby," said medical superintendent M S Purkait.
