The health department requested this move from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, arguing that the cease work of junior doctors had created a “deadlock” in the government medical system, while some doctors “privately” treated patients and performed surgeries in private hospitals and nursing homes.

As a result, the department alleged, the medical sector has to pay a significant bill using the Swasthya Sathi scheme. Their proposed directive would mean that government doctors cannot claim money from the scheme through private practice. The Chief Minister herself had said during a discussion on October 21 with junior doctors that in the two months of the agitation, the state government spent Rs. 450 crore on private hospitals and nursing homes.

A senior health official said, “The health department has identified a total of 563 government doctors who received a portion of that amount from private hospitals as their remuneration. A large number of these doctors are Senior Residents (SRs) in government hospitals. They saw 74,000 patients through the health partner project at that time. The government has spent about 54 crore rupees on the fees of those doctors.” He further added, “A specific report has been submitted by the Health Department to the Chief Minister in this regard. The Health Department found in a study that the government spent a total of Rs 315 crore to meet the bills of private hospitals in the 40 days from August 10 to September 18.”

Under the department’s proposed directive, if a NOC is not obtained by a government doctor who wants to engage in private practice, their medical bill will be withheld if treated under this scheme.