Staff at Calcutta Police Hospital remove Trinamul flags after Mamata Banerjee warned them against politicising the state-run facility. Telegraph picture

Calcutta, June 3: Mamata Banerjee saw red at the sight of Calcutta Police Hospital in south Calcutta awash with Trinamul’s green and orange on Thursday, forcing union members to hurriedly remove the flags, banners, posters and cut-outs.

“What have you done to the hospital? Immediately remove all these flags and posters, I do not want any politics here. Make sure that all patients are treated equally,” the Bengal chief minister said to a member of the Trinamul-affiliated union holding a party banner and mouthing a “Mamata Banerjee zindabad” slogan.

Mamata, who had made a surprise visit to the hospital at 11.50am, ordered him to get back to work.

“People have elected us to work for them. So don’t politicise the hospital,” she said.

A chastened employee said after Mamata left that nobody had expected her to react the way she did.

“We had put up the flags to celebrate Didi becoming chief minister. Now that we know she doesn’t like it, we have removed all the flags and banners. We have only retained a cut-out of her beside our union platform,” Group C employee Pradip Mondal said.

Thursday’s wasn’t the first occasion since that historic Friday the 13th that Mamata had risen above party politics.

On May 16, three days after routing the Left Front, Mamata had sent word to Lalbazar (police headquarters) that it was free to arrest Trinamul leader and employee Pradip Sarkhel for leading a protest at the police headquarters over the CPM remaining in control of the union.

The visit to Calcutta Police Hospital also continued a trend that began in Mamata’s very first week in office. It was her seventh surprise inspection of a state-run hospital on her way to Writers’ Buildings over the past fortnight.

Mamata entered the hospital and asked the doctors about their problems and the state of the facilities. Superintendent Nikhil Ranjan Roy said the hospital needed more doctors and nurses, besides facilities like USG, ECG and X-ray round the clock.

“We only have 17 doctors and 31 nurses. Radiology facilities like ECG, USG and X-ray are available only for five hours in the morning,” Roy said.

Mamata made notes in her diary before heading for the first floor of the hospital. She entered the female ward and was shocked to find a solitary patient. “Why do you have only one patient here?” she asked.

According to superintendent Roy, few women had been coming for treatment, as the hospital did not have a gynaecologist and a maternity ward.

Mamata next entered the male ward, where a patient came up to her with folded hands and complained about the poor quality of food.

She glared at Roy. He contested the allegation. She went back to making notes.

The doctors surrounding her stood in attention as Mamata bombarded the superintendent with more questions.

“What is the hospital’s capacity?” she asked. “We can accommodate 300 patients. There are 70 now,” Roy replied.

“Why do you have so few patients?” she shot back. “Madam, cops are now covered by health insurance and prefer private hospitals,” the superintendent said.

“But that does not mean you should neglect those who come,” Mamata said even as a 20-year-old girl fell at her feet.

Champa Khatun had been waiting outside the ward where her father, constable Ata-ur-islam, has been admitted with a head injury. “I don’t have a place to sleep. I have spent three days on the floor,” she said.

“Don’t you have a night shelter over here?” Mamata asked a doctor, who shook his head. “Start constructing one and submit a status report to my office within a week,” she ordered, stomping out of the hospital at 12.03pm.