The state health department will post 26 additional doctors in three state-run hospitals in Alipurduar district.

Suman Kanjilal, chairman of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti of Alipurduar district hospital, said considering the shortage of doctors at the three hospitals, he had approached chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the state health secretary.

“The chief minister has acted on my request, and 26 additional doctors will be sent to our district. Of them, 17 would be posted in the district hospital, seven at the super-speciality hospital in Falakata, and two doctors at the Birpara state general hospital,” Kanjilal, who is also the MLA of Alipurduar, said.

In addition to the doctors, the state has also approved proposals to install a CT scan and a digital X-ray machine at the district hospital here.

Among the new doctors are specialists like dermatologists, orthopaedic surgeons, eye specialists, anaesthetists, and gynaecologists,
said sources.

At the district hospital, there are 82 posts of doctors, but as of now, there are 64 doctors. “If these new 17 doctors join the hospital, it will largely help us to provide better treatment to the patients,” said a health official.

At the state general hospital in Birpara, there are 42 posts, while there are
28 doctors.