Row over IIT Kharagpur decision to shift healthcare facilities from main campus to some distance away

Kolkata: The IIT Kharagpur Teachers Association (IITTA) has expressed reservation over the decision of the institute authorities to shift most healthcare facilities located within the campus to the new Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Superspeciality Hospital (SPMSH) some distance away.

The institute management argued that the move was aimed at optimally utilising the capacity of both the hospital including state-of-the-art infrastructure and modern healthcare facilities for patients.

Flagging the issue first, IITTA said in a letter to the authorities on Saturday that any such shifting will inconvenience campus fraternity including students to a great extent and requested it be revoked.

Citing the December 12 notification, the association said in the letter, "the institute administration has ordered the shifting of major staff and infrastructure of Dr B C Roy Technology Hospital (BCRTH) on campus to the new SPMSH, located at a distance outside the campus in Balarampur four km away." "Only emergency primary care and the pharmacy will continue to remain functional at BCRTH. As this shift is going to be a major disruption for the campus community including the students, we are appalled that none of the recognised bodies representing teachers, staff, officers or students have ever been consulted, although there exists a committee called 'Hospital Management Committee' that includes representation of all these stakeholders," the letter said.

The spokesperson of IIT Kharagpur said on Sunday, the move is aimed at providing more specialised treatment to both the inside and outside community with enhanced infrastructural support.

"To meet the rising challenges of medical facilities in the neighbourhood community, this decision has been taken. The OPD has started functioning from January 2021. The new hospital is designed and constructed with the capacity of 400 beds and initially, it will start with 250 beds and the rest will be developed in phases. The other services and utilities will also be developed in phases," the institute said in a statement.

The statement said the IPD (inpatient department) and OPD (outpatients department) will actively support the community with OT services including autoclave machine and an operation theatre table.

"The SPMSH and the BCRTH will coexist with each other. BCRTH will function as a primary healthcare hospital with 24X7 ambulance facility, blood testing and x-ray. Emergency primary care by nursing assistant and doctors will be made functionally available at BCRTH 24X7," the spokesperson assured.

"The staff and infrastructure at BCRTH will be relocated to SPMSH as per the directives of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The terms and conditions of employment as outlined in the respective appointment letters of the staff of BCRTH being reallocated to SPMSH will remain unchanged including salary and other benefits. The employees of both the units apart from doctors and nurses can be posted in either of any units as per the institute rules and regulations. The new hospital will be facilitated with the latest medical accessories," the institute said.

Asked about the apprehensions voiced by the teachers' body, the spokesperson said faculty, students and staff members will be rather benefit from these specialised services provided by the government of India catering to the needs of all neighbouring community along with IIT KGP community.

"This set-up will not hamper the community life of the institute. The new hospital, equipped with better medical facilities, is restructured to cater to the larger needs of the growing KGP community. It may be mentioned that majority of the critical cases have been referred to Kolkata for the last 20 years or so including even basic surgery. Now, they can be treated here itself with more specialized and expert doctors," the institute said.

About the argument that the SPMSH is far away from BCRTH, the institute said it is "barely two and a half km with secured campus boundary. The institute has appointed dedicated campus conveyance (e rickshaw) for intermediate travel between the hospitals 24X7.

"In fact, the travel expenses regarding the same will be borne by the institute," the spokesperson said.

The IITTA, however, called for a "thorough discussion" and taking advice from a larger cross-section of campus community and the students as well as the retired pensioners living outside the periphery of the campus.

Referring to the fact that the institute is "going to get a new incumbent Director from January 1, 2025," the teachers' body said "we wonder what is the big hurry to execute the proposed shifting on December 24, exactly a week before the expiry of the tenure of the present Director? Why cannot we all have a more thorough discussion with the next Director before such a big move is executed?"