Brokers and syndicates of dishonest medical staff have become very active in committing different illegal activities in public hospitals across the country, causing immense sufferings for patients.
Many patients have alleged that they have to pay additional money to get medical services.
While visiting Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, National Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedlc Rehabilitation (NITOR), National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH), this correspondent has seen that syndicates and dishonest hospital staff are desperate to do ill activities there and do not dare anyone.
“I admitted my 17-month baby boy to the surgery ward at TB hospital (National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital) in Mohakhali of the capital on Thursday. I managed a bed for my child by paying extra Tk 500 to a staff,” Md Harun, who hailed from Sharadangi village of Pabna district, told the Daily Sun.
Md Dulal Pramanik who was admitted to yellow unit of National Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedlc Rehabilitation (NITOR) recently said he has to pay extra money to the medical staff for taking services at the hospital.
Talking to the Daily Sun, some patients at the NITOR said they pay extra money to the patients to take various services, including dressing of the wounded organs.
“Sometimes, some medical staff are interested to give services for money though it is not needed to do dressing for the wounded organs frequently,” a doctor of the NITOR told the Daily Sun, wishing not to be named.
Sources inside the hospital said patients have to give extra money to use trolleys and wheelchairs while some dishonest medical staff members take Tk 200 for a wheelchair and Tk 500 for a trolley.
A broker syndicate inside and outside the hospital is also active to get patients admitted, tests, x-rays done, and other diagnosis services as brokers of different private hospitals misguide the patients and sent them to respective private hospitals and diagnostics centres for medical services.
During a recent visit to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), this correspondent has seen that a syndicate of the ambulance owners and drivers has been controlling the total ambulance services in the hospital areas.
“A syndicate of ambulance owners doesn’t allow us entering hospital premises to carry emergency patients,” said Abdur Rahman, a driver of an ambulance outside the hospital area.
A number of patients and their attendees said they are forced to hire a ambulance of the syndicate in DMCH with many money as no other ambulance was allowed to enter the hospital area.
Business with the hospital beds and other services is also another problem at DMCH as patients have to pay extra money to the medical staff to get beds.
Not only that the patients also have to pay extra money for getting various services at the hospital.
Sharifa Begum of Sunamganj was admitted to Government Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital recently and after her getting recovery she was released from the hospital.
Sharifa’s husband Yajuddin at first couldn’t arrange ambulance for her to return home for high fare while he finally was able to arrange ambulance through a ward boy of the hospital.
Bed business syndicates are also active in National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital (Mitford) where many patients have to pay about Tk 200-500 more to get a hospital bed to some hospital staff.
Sources inside the hospital said some ward boys and other staff of the hospital and ambulance owners have secret links while syndicate takes high fares from patients.
On March 7, a mobile court comprising of executive magistrate and a team of RAB-2 conducted a drive at Government Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, National Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedlc Rehabilitation (NITOR) and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) against brokers and illegal syndicates.
Executive Magistrate Md Iqbal Hossain sentenced nine brokers to various terms of imprisonment during the drive.
Talking to the Daily Sun, Dr Md Khalilur Rahman, director of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, said, “We regularly keep monitoring against any illegal syndicate and brokers. We also take stern action if any medical staff is found guilty.”
