Kolkata: A 35-year-old goods supplier became the first to lodge a complaint at the newly set-up West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) office on Monday. Debdulal Haldar, the complainant, walked into the commission's temporary office on the third floor of 32 BBD Bag at 3pm. He lodged a complaint against a private nursing home in Diamond Harbour where his wife underwent a surgery last year, leading to infection and bleeding. She had to be taken to Vellore for corrective treatment and is still under treatment .Haldar was greeted by two WBCERC officials who had been stationed at the commission's temporary set-up since morning. The commission's sprawling office on the ground floor is still under construction. Even though it has set up a website, no complaint had come in till Haldar visited the office. He has demanded compensation from the surgeon for the botched-up surgery.Led by Arshad Hassan Warsi, health department secretary, three health department employees walked into the commission's office shortly after 10am. Barring a table and three chairs, there is nothing yet in the 10x10ft room. Even the telephone is yet to be installed. "We are ready to receive complaints. This is a temporary set-up, but complainants are free to walk in and lodge their grievances," said an employeeHaldar's complaint was recorded in a register. Since he was not carrying any supporting document, he was asked to return with the relevant papers. "I have all the papers at home and will come back with them tomorrow," Haldar said.Haldar's wife Kanaklata, 30, a mother of two, had been admitted to the nursing home for a gall bladder surgery six months ago. After about a month, she started oozing blood and fluid from the surgical wound. "When I took her back to the doctor, he said she had got an infection from the surgical instruments and assured us everything would soon be fine. But the bleeding increased and she had excruciating pain. I was scared and my relatives suggested that I take her to Vellore immediately," said Haldar.Last month, Kanaklata was treated in a Vellore hospital. Doctors told her husband that her infection had not resulted from surgical instruments, but was triggered by a "wrong" operation. "Some of her veins had been punctured which led to the bleeding. The infection had spread about five inches into her stomach. We were also told that her naval area was severely infected. Fortunately, the doctors at Vellore managed to save her life. But I want compensation from the doctor, who not only botched up the surgery, but misguided us," said Haldar, who spent Rs 22,000 overall on the procedure.Veteran medic and member of the commission Sukumar Mukherjee, however, said he wasn't yet aware that the body has started receiving complaints. "We had an initial meeting but there has been no progress after that. I have not received any subsequent information on the commission's functioning," said Mukherjee.A cloud still hangs over the way the commission is going to function, felt Kunal Sarkar, cardiac surgeon. "While the intent is noble, nobody knows which aspect of a complaint is going to be addressed by whom. I apprehend a flurry of court cases and it could eventually be the judiciary which will have to provide clarity on the process. This is not a desirable situation," Sarkar said.

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