I am frustrated with the quality and standard of healthcare services at private hospitals. A few months ago, my niece was admitted to a private hospital for delivery. She gave birth to a sick child. The boy was rushed to the intensive care and put on an artificial breathing machine (mechanical ventilator). He was kept there for a long time without any treatment. Because of lack of treatment and services offered by the hospital authorities, it felt like my niece and her newborn baby were hostages to them. Moreover, it involves a huge amount of money. At a certain point, on payment of dues, my niece shifted her baby to Dhaka Shishu Hospital, a public hospital, where the baby got cured after proper treatment and went back home happily in due time.

Many people complained to me that in private hospitals, a patient is quickly rushed to the intensive care unit and then put on an artificial breathing machine. A decision to put on a mechanical ventilator was felt by many to be a 'reflex decision' that comes as a surprise or a shock to the patient’s family. A demand for a huge payment comes next. There is very little communication between the healthcare providers and the relatives thereafter. The only brief interaction that occurs is when the 'worst news' is declared.

Many people now think that entry into an intensive care unit in Dhaka’s private hospitals is a 'one way ticket' while the life saving machine is just a 'money making machine.'

Anyone who has ever been to a private hospital for any medical service would understand the kind of exploitation that takes place in private hospitals. Patients have lost their trust in many private hospitals due to lack of healthcare services. Because of the unethical practices pursued at private hospitals, well-to-do citizens of Bangladesh prefer to go abroad for treatment which results in spending in other countries of our hard earned foreign exchange earnings.

                Khairuzzaman, Dhaka.