Poor patients must get treatment

We are very concerned over the grim picture of the country’s health facilities. What is worrying is that there is one hospital bed for every 990 patients in the country. According to data of the Health Bulletin, the country has a total of 1,71,675 hospital beds. Of them, the number of beds in public hospitals is 71,660 and the number of beds in private hospitals is 99,975.

The government has taken various measures to ensure universal health coverage under the health and family wel- fare ministry by 2030. Though the number of non-communicable, communicable and viral diseases such as cardio- vascular ailments, diabetes and hypertension is growing alarmingly in the country, hospitals cannot provide better health service to people due to lack of treatment facilities and lack of specialist doctors.

Millions of people, particularly the poor, are suffering from various diseases across the country. But it is very difficult for them to get treatment in the hospitals. Affluent people suffering from the deadly diseases can go abroad for treatment but poor patients either stop continuing treatment halfway through or die without treatment. Hospitals and clinics are witnessing huge crowd of patients in the cities like Dhaka and Chattogram. But patients have to take treatment lying on the floor. Some 383 out of the 429 upazila hospitals in the country have X-ray machines. Of them, 53 lie inactive, according to media reports. Hospitals and clinics are witnessing huge crowd of patients in the cities like Dhaka and Chattogram. But many patients have to take treatment lying on the floor On the other hand, most of the poor now avoid tests due to expensive medication.

Apart from the upazila health complex, there are community clinics set up by the government across the country to reach health services to the door steps of the rural people. The government has appointed doctors in upazila health complexes, but many do not want to stay at the upazila level. Rather they live in the capital Dhaka or other metropolitan cities. However, the physicians attached to hospitals in rural areas are now getting special facilities, including financial incentives. We thought that doctors, nurses and health workers will get encouraged to serve the rural people for such special incentives. But the physicians still intend to stay in Dhaka or other big cities as they have the scope to earn huge amount of money by doing private practice in the capital and other cities. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina repeatedly asked all con- cerned of the medical colleges and government hospitals to ensure quick health services to people at low cost. The doctors at upazila level hospitals and health centers have huge responsibilities for providing healthcare to the people living in rural areas.

The rising cost of treatment is making the general people helpless in the country. We have noticed that a section of physicians at government and private hospitals do not think about the financial condition of the poor patients. Their money- making attitude should be changed. Allegations are rife that patients are not getting proper treatment at the government hospitals in rural areas. On the other hand, treatment cost at private hospitals is beyond the reach of common people. We hope that all concerned, including doctors and others concerned, will put in their best efforts to uphold the image of the country’s all medical colleges and public hospitals by providing better treatment to all the patients.