Krishnagar, March 12: One health centre in every block of the state will be converted into a 10-bed hospital.

The upgrade will be carried out at a cost of Rs 170 crore, to be provided by the health department in phases.

Bengal has 340 blocks. Each one has two or three primary health centres, which mostly provide outdoor and emergency medical services.

“This will help patients in remote villages to receive treatment that require admission. Or else, these patients would have to come to the block, sub-division or district hospital,” said health service director Sanchita Bakshi.

Every district has been told to select the health centre to be upgraded.

“The new hospitals will have test facilities like X-ray, ECG, ultrasonography and a pathology lab. Minor surgeries, like Caesarean sections, would be conducted,” said Bakshi.

Rural healthcare is in a shambles in Bengal. Primary health centres now have one doctor, who works from 10am to about 1pm. The centres only have medicines for ailments like fever and stomach upsets and vitamin tablets.

They do not provide accommodation to doctors, who are more often that not missing from duty. The charge often is that they devote more time to private chambers and nursing homes.

The decision to launch the upgrade drive comes when panchayat polls are round the corner

It will take around Rs 50 lakh to upgrade a health centre, Nadia district magistrate Onkar Singh Meena said. “We have already selected 17 health centres in Nadia and received Rs 5 crore for the project. Work will begin from April,” he added.

Around 400 doctors will be recruited across the state. “We have started recruitment. Doctors will be available round the clock in the new facilities,” said Bakshi.

Quarters for nurses and doctors will be set up adjoining the health centres.