Swasthya Bhavan orders festive duty roster for docs, 24×7 specialist care
Times of India | 2 September 2025
Kolkata: Swasthya Bhavan has instructed state hospitals to prepare duty rosters for the next two months, ensuring the availability of gynaecologists, anaesthetists, paediatricians, and sonologists during the festive season.
The order specified leaves should be granted judiciously and that even foreign visits might be restricted, if necessary.
Nabanna emphasised that no death due to negligence would be tolerated during the festive season and mandated that critical patients be attended to within 10 minutes of receiving an alert. An official said the aim of the roster was to ensure on-call doctors were ready to prevent any denial of care and eliminate preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.
The DME and DHS on Friday said the rosters be submitted to Swasthya Bhavan by Monday, complete with the doctors' names, designations and mobile numbers.
The health department data indicates a rise in institutional deliveries during this time, which coincides with the festive period. MSVPs and CMOHs have been told to ensure the presence of specialists during all C-sections to maintain quality care amid increased delivery load.
MSVPs have been directed to ensure round-the-clock availability of specialists, not lower than the rank of an assistant professor, and a senior gynaecologist. Nursing stations have to display the names of on-duty gynaecologists, anaesthetists and paediatricians to enable immediate contact in a crisis. MSVPs and hospital superintendents have been advised to conduct night and holiday checks to assess bedside responses for critical patients.
The order says waiting huts for expecting mothers and scanning and diagnostic facilities must operate 24×7. Superintendents should monitor stock of drugs, logistics and life support equipment.