The blood banks of the two prestigious medical institutions in Bengal — SSKM Hospital and the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital — have been rated ‘B’ during an ongoing drive by the health department to grade 58 blood banks in the state.

Director of health services Prabhakar Chatterjee said among the blood banks rated ‘A’ are the Central Blood Bank and those at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Nilratan Sirkar Hospital and National Medical College and Hospital.

As part of the health reforms, the blood banks are being rated A, B, C, D or E on the basis of the quantity of blood collected from voluntary donors, the quality of their storing and freezing systems, standards maintained during blood tests and maintenance of records.

Among blood banks rated ‘A’ are the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Howrah State General Hospital and hospitals in Diamond Harbour, Barrackpore and Barasat.

The government, meanwhile, has issued a circular on Friday asking principals of all medical colleges and other teaching hospitals to increase vigilance on the attendance and departure of the teachers.

Director of medical education C.R. Maity said it had come to the health department’s notice that teachers are often playing truant while on duty.

“We are asking the principals of various colleges to regularly check the arrival and departure timings of the teachers. We intend conducting surprise checks on medical colleges and teaching hospitals to see whether attendance records are being properly maintained or not,” he added.

nSymposium on deafness: Woodlands Hospital and Medical Research Centre organised a symposium on ‘Management of Deafness’ on Sunday. It was attended by over 100 physicians, including ENT specialists, and sought to showcase innovations in medicare.