West Bengal Doctor Who was Drunk on Duty may Not be Sacked

Healthcare in West Bengal continues to remain in the spotlight after yet another controversy, this time a doctor in a government hospital attended patients while he was drunk. Prabir Kumar Ghosh, 59, was found to be checking on patients at the Baghajatin State General Hospital before one of the patients realized that he was speaking incoherently and his breath reeked of alcohol. The patient, Samar Ray, immediately told other patients who then lodged a complaint with the hospital administrators.

On conducting breath and urine tests, the hospital administrators found that Ghosh was drunk and an FIR was registered against him. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised that strict action will be taken against Ghosh, though she admitted that she cannot afford to sack him.

“If I sack the doctor, it will be difficult to find a replacement. In many hospitals, there is shortage of doctors. We want to adopt the public-private partnership model to improve health infrastructure. But there was no system of punishing doctors and health staff for negligence. Often, health staff is reluctant to treat patients and misbehave. This will not be tolerated”, she said.

Source-Medindia