National awards are set to be given to health sector officials as part of an ongoing initiative of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to ensure capable leadership at public hospitals and improve the quality of the country’s healthcare service.
Sources said the “Health Minister’s National Championship Award” would recognise outstanding performance in the health sector.
Seven national awards will be given in three categories: tertiary hospital (medical college and specialised hospitals and institutes), civil surgeon, and district hospital. Of the seven awards, three will be given to the best tertiary hospitals, two to the best civil surgeons and two to the best district hospitals.
Forty-two more awards, which will not fall under the health minister’s national championship award, will be given separately to 14 district hospitals, 14 civil surgeons and 14 upazila health complexes.
Health Minister Mohammed Nasim will hand over the awards to the winners on February 23 at the Management Information System (MIS) auditorium of the DGHS.
Dr Abul Kalam Azad, additional director general (planning), also director of the MIS of the DGHS, confirmed the launch of the new awards.
He said several senior-level teams have already selected the seven winners after visiting 85 tertiary hospitals, civil surgeons’ offices and district hospitals last December to assess their performance.
Under the initiative, titled “Health System Strengthening through a System Approach,” the health directorate has set a target of achieving eight goals to improve health services without the need for extra funding.
These goals include ensuring cleanliness, improving service quality, expanding laboratory services, displaying information and guidelines for services with arrows, improving office attendance, sending health data to the DGHS regularly, and regularly holding meetings with health and gardening staff.
Meanwhile, the health ministry has reportedly issued letters to all the directors of medical colleges, specialised hospitals and institutes, division directors and civil surgeons, requesting their presence at the award ceremony. On the day of the award ceremony, the health minister is scheduled to hold a meeting in which he will discuss the overall situation of the country’s health service
Sources said the eight-goal approach was adopted by the DGHS six months ago following a meeting with hospital directors and civil surgeons.