Fresh Bangla clashes may slow down patients’ return, fear hosps
Times of India | 5 August 2024
Kolkata: Bangladeshi patients have started trickling back to Kolkata hospitals as health visas are being issued again after remaining suspended since bus and train services between Dhaka and Kolkata were stalled a fortnight ago due to a violent student agitation in the neighbouring country. But the renewed agitation in Bangladesh has again triggered apprehensions.
Several hospitals have seen a surge in OPD slot bookings for the first half of Aug even as footfalls, too, are rising slowly. With the unrest continuing in Bangladesh, the return of patients could be slow, said hospitals.
Manipal Hospitals, where the flow of Bangladeshi patients had dried up about two weeks ago, received 30 patients on Wednesday. “Enquiries are pouring in and we expect the number to rise now. But the patients visiting us now had acquired their visa invitation letters before the trouble started,” said a Manipal representative. Manipal receives around 2,300 Bangladeshi patients across its four units a day.
Visa invitation letters (VIL) have to be issued by specific hospitals in Kolkata to patients in Bangladesh who are then issued medical visas on the basis of these letters. Since issuance of visas had stopped, VILs were not being issued either.
Ruby General Hospital saw a sudden spurt in Bangladesh patients from July 30, when 23 visited its OPD. While on Friday, the number slid to 12, it rose to 14 on Saturday. “Internet has started working sporadically in Bangladesh and phone calls are going through. We have been inundated with calls and enquiries and slot bookings have resumed in full flow. We have started issuing VILs again,” said Ruby general manager – operations Subhashish Datta.
Some other hospitals are witnessing a slow revival. At Peerless Hospital, which gets around 120 OPD patients from Bangladesh a day, number of Bangladeshi patients was merely 2-3 on Thursday. “Since slot bookings had stopped and visas were not being issued since mid-July, it will take time for the process to roll again. We have started receiving applications and are issuing VILs but they are very few in number. If the transport services and internet function normally, the number will rise soon,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.
At RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS), too, the return of Bangladeshi patients has been slow so far. “Things are moving towards normalcy in Bangladesh but the impact on patient inflow to Kolkata is still far from normal. The VIL requests have gone back to its earlier volume but the patient footfalls are still below par. With ground transport service restarting in Bangladesh, we are hopeful that patient flow through land border will increase,” said Narayana Hospitals COO R Venkatesh.
ILS Hospitals have seen a marginal rise in OPD footfalls from Bangladesh. “While our Agartala unit has seen a sharp rise, our Kolkata units have seen a slow revival so far,” said Debashis Dhar, vice-president of ILS.
“From last week of July, we have observed a significant decrease in footfall of new Bangladeshi patients, though we are receiving a high volume of enquiries now. Around 80% planned cases from Bangladeshi patients in cardiology and oncology are currently being postponed to mid-Aug upon consultation with treating doctors,” said Shaoli Dutta, director of Desun Hospitals Group.
Patients from the neighbouring country will soon return in large numbers, though the revival could be slow, said Indian Chamber of Commerce national healthcare president and Charnock Hospital MD Prashant Sharma.