People are being deprived of health care services at private medical college hospitals at nominal cost, as there are no outdoor facilities in a number of private medical college hospitals, sources said.

As per the setting up rules of private medical college, there must have outdoor facilities at private medical college hospitals in order to render healthcare services to people at nominal cost, they opined.

Public health experts of the country told daily sun that outdoor facilities are available in public hospitals, including all tertiary hospitals, for rendering treatment services to hospital-bound people at free of cost. But this provision should have at private medical college hospitals so that people can receive treatment there at low cost.

Dr Rashid E Mahbub, president of Health Right Movement and former president of Bangladesh Medical Association, told daily sun that outdoor for medical treatment at nominal cost is mandatory for operating private medical colleges.

“But several private medical colleges have no outdoor medical facilities for which people are being deprived of healthcare needs at private medical college hospitals at nominal cost,” he added.

He blamed mushroom growth of private medical colleges for the present situation.

He also said many owners of medical colleges are not following rules in absence of proper monitoring by the authorities concerned.

“Earlier, the health ministry, university concerned and BMDC jointly give approval to a medical college. A single authority is entrusted to deal with the approval. Sometimes, it is difficult for it to do the job properly. A section of medical college owners are exploiting the situation,” he explained.

Dr Nitay Kanti Das, member secretary of Health Rights Movement, said the government should show zero tolerance to quality of healthcare in private medical colleges so that people from different parts of the country can receive treatment from outdoor of private medical college hospitals at small amount of payment.

“Around 50 percent people of the country depend on the private healthcare and outdoor medical facilities must have at private medical college hospitals in order to render treatment to people at nominal cost,” he added.

 Management of many private medical colleges prefers money to quality of medical services.

“Healthcare was seriously commercialised in the last decade. Patients have to pay a huge amount of money for private healthcare, but they are deprived of treatment at private medical college hospitals due to lack of outdoor medical facilities,” Dr Nitay opined.

He called upon all concerned of the government to take immediate step to open up outdoor medical facilities at all private medical college hospitals.

Dr Md Ehteshamul Huq Choudhury, additional director general of Directorate of Health Services, told daily sun that there must have outdoor medical facilities at every private medical college hospital so that people can get medical treatment from private medical college hospitals at nominal cost.

We will strengthen our monitoring over the private medical college hospitals to ensure outdoor medical facilities at every private medical college hospitals, he added.

If we find any private medical college is running without outdoor medical facilities then we will penalise them and finally we will shut down the medical college, he warned.