Doctors in 10 district government hospitals and 20 upazila hospitals will be allowed to see patients at outdoor facilities after office hours from March 30 under a pilot project, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Monday.
Currently, the government doctors are to see patients from 8am to 2pm at hospitals. The project was supposed to begin from March 1, as per the minister's previous announcement on January 22.
“Initially, doctors will be allowed to run private practice by rotation from 3pm to 6pm as a pilot project,” the minister told reporters at the Secretariat, UNB reported.
“The project will be introduced in all government hospitals gradually,” he said.
However, the government has also fixed Tk500 as honorarium for senior professors, Tk400 for assistant professors and senior consultants, Tk300 for assistant professors and junior consultants, and Tk200 for physicians having MBBS and BDA.
The government has taken the initiative since there are widespread allegations that the doctors skip duties, especially in district and upazila levels, and tend to see patients at private chambers.
To find a suitable solution, the government formed a committee with Prof Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, vice chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, in the chair. It also constituted a six-member committee to fix a standard operating protocol.