Breath analysers to screen visitors, staff at Darjeeling Sadar Hosp soon

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 31 Aug 2024, Darjeeling: The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) will soon be installing breath analyser machines at the gates of the Darjeeling Sadar Hospital to ensure that no intoxicated person enters the hospital. 

This comes in the wake of the guidelines prescribed by the state government’s flagship programme “Rattirer Sathi” (helpers at night), especially for the safety of women working night shifts. 

“We will be installing breath analyser machines on the gates of the Darjeeling Sadar Hospital. Not only the attendants of patients, visitors but the hospital staff will also be checked. No one will be allowed inside the hospital in an intoxicated state. 

We seek the cooperation of the public for this,” stated Rajesh Chauhan, Deputy Chairman, GTA, while talking to Millennium Post. Incidentally, a breath analyser machine or breathalyser is a device that analyses a person’s breath to determine the blood alcohol concentration. It is a useful way to measure intoxication. 

Sources state that past incidents show that in case of unrest in hospitals, it is the intoxicated persons who mainly create the problems, engaging in vandalism and other such activities. “We have beefed up security along with adhering to the state government protocols. The police camp in the hospital premises is active and police patrolling inside the hospital has been intensified. We have an adequate number of guards,” stated Chauhan. 

Changing rooms and toilets from doctors and nurses are operational. “We are renovating certain wards of the hospital. New toilets are also being built. There are rooms which are being upgraded as restrooms for doctors,” stated the Deputy Chairman of the GTA. Visitors are also being stringently manned at the gates. 

“We have started a pilot project “one patient-one attendant”, under which a single attendant pass is being issued per patient. At any given time, only one attendant can be present at the ward with the patient and not a group. The public has been cooperating and already the positive change can be noticed,” added Chauhan. 

He further stated that the hospital and health officials were constantly keeping close watch on the hospital. “The executive director, health, GTA, superintendent of the hospital along with me are constantly visiting, day-in-day-out, overseeing the proper functioning of the hospital,” added Chauhan. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

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