West Bengal: Swasthya Sathi relief for tailor who undergoes spine surgery | Kolkata News – Times of India – Times of India

Kolkata News
Mohammad Ataur Laskar with his family at his village home.

KOLKATA: Amidst complaints of private hospitals refusing Swasthya Sathi patients, some hospitals continue to conduct complex surgeries on patients covered by Bengal government’s flagship health scheme.
Recently, a 32-year-old tailor, the sole breadwinner of his family, was operated upon for a tumour in the spike that had snatched away the patient’s mobility. Despite a long waiting queue for Swasthya Sathi patients, Dr Amitabha Chanda convinced the hospital to accommodate Mohammad Ataur Laskar at the earliest because of his worsening condition.
Laskar a resident of South 24 Parganas had been facing difficulty in walking since November 2021. Medications from local doctors did not help and his condition got deteriorated. An MRI done in a government hospital in Kolkata detected a large tumour in his spinal cord as the causing the trouble. Even as the hospital has all facilities for critical spine surgeries doctors said Laskar had to wait due to the heavy patient load.
“In the government hospital we were told that my brother will have to wait four months as there were several other patients ahead from him. This was three months ago. In the meantime my brother’s brother condition got worsened and lost his ability to walk,” said elder borther Araf Ali Laskar.
Some relative suggested that they see neuro surgeon Dr Amitabha Chanda at Ranbindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences. By this time the patient had become wheelchair dependent and had lost control of urine and stool.
“This patient needed immediate surgery if his limb function was to salvage. Also being the sole breadwinner with two small children his family would be financially devastated if he could not resume his work,” said Dr Chanda.
Since the family did not have the fund for the surgery Laskar requested the procedure to be done under the Swasthya Sathi scheme.
“I have conducted many surgical procedures on Swasthya Sathi patients. However, this time there was a big queue of such patients. Thankfully the hospital management heeded to my request to accommodate this patient on priority basis,” added Chanda.
Laskar underwent the 5-hour operation recently whereby the tumor was removed completely. Back home he is now on his feet, able to walk again.
“We are thankful to Dr Amitbha Chanda who went out of his way so that I got the treatment before it was too late,” said the patient.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

FacebookTwitterInstagram

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/west-bengal-swasthya-sathi-relief-for-tailor-who-undergoes-spine-surgery/articleshow/91617818.cms