Extra fees ensure swift service in state-run hospitals

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Taskina Yeasmin
Published : 02:00, Nov 05, 2018 | Updated : 02:00, Nov 05, 2018

Patients at Dhaka Medical College Hospital suffering ‘Dengu’ fever. Photo taken on July 21, 2018.At the public hospitals, people are often forced to pay extra to get services. Relatives of patients allege that harassment and irregularity begin form the moment a patient is put on the trolley. For a Tk. 10 ticket, ten times more has to be paid at times, say sufferers.
Sathi Begum, 24, a Fistula patient at Suhrawardy Hospital, said that she was given too many tests and had to spend Tk. 80,000 instead of fifty.
It was found that at Suhrawardy hospital, extra payment has to be made for getting a trolley, a seat or have pathological tests done.
The same scene is noticed at DMCH and Mitford hospital. Without paying extra, hospital bed won’t be ensured, say relatives of patients.
Patients and relatives say that all over the country it’s the same picture. A doctor at Suhrawardy says: “only three four years ago, the hospital was a haven for middlemen and a patient had to cross five to six layers to get to the doctor.”
Now the presence of middlemen has reduced, but people suffer because of third and fourth class employees and due to outsourcing.
Saying that 40 per cent of fourth class posts are vacant, he said: “since we don’t have enough manpower, some people need to be employed through outsourcing.”
However, director of Suhrawardy Hospital, Professor Dr. Uttam Kumar Barua, says: “we don’t have any complaints of extra fees being charged; sometimes, staff get tips for services.”
Director of Dhaka Medical College, Brigadier AKM Nasiruddin, says: “if there’s an official complaint we shall take immediate action.”
DG of the health department, Professor Abul Kalam Azad, told Bangla Tribune: “if we hear or read about irregularities then we ask the authorities to take action.”
Such suffering may reduce if a hospital’s budget is based on the number of patients it gets, he added.

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