Police on Monday started the security assessment of the government hospitals across the city to identify gaps in the arrangements.
Sources in Lalbazar said officers from the local police stations started inspections of the government hospitals under their respective jurisdictions.
“We have asked the officers to take note of the CCTV system inside the hospitals, to check the vulnerable points and the entry-exit areas,” said an officer of Kolkata Police.
The drive started by the police is intended to curb the menace of touts who often cheat patients and their relatives with false promises of getting them a bed or getting a diagnostic test done, jumping a queue.
The police said they intended to complete this exercise by May 20, after which the reports from the various government hospitals will be sent to the state health department.
The state principal secretary of the health and family welfare department, Narayan Swaroop Nigam, sent an official communication to Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nand informing him that in connection with the discussions held at SSKM Hospital on Friday, the state health department was keen to improve security measures in all the medical colleges and hospitals in the city.
“An exercise is being carried out to improve security measures in all the Medical Colleges and Hospitals in Kolkata… A team of your officers from the Commissionerate may first preview the entire premises and view the vulnerable areas where it is necessary to provide police security services so that touts and other unsocial elements do not disturb the patients or their relatives/attendants,” the letter stated.
“The parking areas must be free of storage material & other encumbrances. Necessary actions may be taken to identify and remove unauthorised parking from the hospital premises. All necessary assistance from the hospital authority would be provided.”