Special care for transgenders at RG Kar

KOLKATA: It seems Bengal is showing the nation how to steer transgenders back to the mainstream. After appointing Manabi Bandyopadhyay as the first transgender college principal in India, the state has gifted a dedicated medical team to take care of transgender patients. RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, which has come up with the idea as part of the college’s centenary celebrations, will also have separate cabins earmarked for the community.
“The team of medics includes a counsellor, an expert psychiatrist, a plastic surgeon and specially trained nursing personnel who are sensitive to the community. Women and child welfare and social welfare minister Shashi Panja, who is an alumnus of the college, has taken interest in the project and provided all support,” said principal Dr S Batabyal.
For long, the community members have been demanding separate wards in government hospitals. At present, they are admitted to male wards. RG Kar authorities have arranged for four cabins that will be reserved for members of the transgender community.
There will also be a facility for sex-alignment surgery. In fact, the hospital is preparing to perform the first such surgery to transform a male into a female. The patient is currently undergoing counselling prior to the surgery.
“Getting treatment at hospitals has been a nightmare for members of the community. Transgenders would be mocked at or even denied proper care as many doctors are not sensitive enough. This initiative is a welcome move,” said Ranjita Sinha, a member of the recently formed transgender board of the state government.
This apart, a multi-disciplinary research unit, state virology unit, a cochlear implant facility, seven new cabins for woman patients and new radiotherapy technology are parts of the added services the hospital is going to introduce during the centenary celebrations. In addition to alumni of the medical college across the globe, a number of dignitaries will take part in the yearlong centenary celebrations that kicked off on Sunday. A host of programmes, including seminars, conferences and cultural meets, will be part of the celebration where the likes of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen are likely to participate.