The New Nation - Internet Edition

OVER the years, Bangladesh has built up public health services at different levels across the country. There are public hospitals in the big cities and smaller state-run hospitals in the rural areas at the upazila level. There are about 402 Upazila Health Complexes in as many upazilas. The Upazila Health Complexes were built at huge costs over the years and government took loans from donor agencies like the World Bank for the purpose and regular massive allocations are made from the national budget for the functioning and maintenance of these publicly run rural hospitals.

But any feedback on the state of these health complexes, after proper surveys, would surely reveal a very sad spectacle of corruption and neglect in varying degrees. Usually, the government doctors posted in the health complexes abstain from their hospital jobs and are found in many cases even engaging in private practice within the hospital premises neglecting the patients who come for free treatment. The government-provided daily food allowance for patients are reportedly misappropriated substantially by the food contractors in connivance with hospital staff. Therefore, the diets served to patients are of poor quality.

Free life-saving drugs are black-marketed. Lack of hygiene is noted in these hospitals. Valuable machines are found rusting away with none to run them properly. The relevant authorities in the government must take a hard look at the prevailing state of affairs in these rural hospitals with a view to deep cleansing the corruption in them and make their doctors and other staff truly accountable. And this can be best achieved by organising the recipients of their services This must be achieved very soon to make any sense out of the big allocations routinely made for public health care.