The much talked about Regent Hospital, by using its owner’s political influence amid the ongoing health crisis, managed to secure permission from the government to conduct tests and treat Covid-19 patients.
On condition of anonymity, two top officials of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) revealed this information to Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday afternoon.
Owing to the coronavirus emergency, the DGHS and the Health Ministry were unable to properly scrutinize the documents of the hospital, which later were found to have gone beyond their expiry dates, before approving it as a Covid-19 dedicated hospital, they claimed.
However, the DGHS on Tuesday was forced to shut down and seal all operations of Regent Hospital over allegations of issuing fake Covid-19 certificates and indulging in other forms of misconduct after the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), on Monday and Tuesday, raided both the branches of the hospital – in Uttara and Mirpur – and gathered evidence.
Regent Group Chairman Md Shahed and 16 others were accused in the case filed over the incident of issuing fake Covid-19 certificates by RAB on Tuesday night.
Following the filing of the case on Wednesday, a Dhaka court placed seven Regent Hospital staff members on a five-day remand each.
Shahid, who claimed to be a member of the ruling party’s sub-committee on international affairs, was yet to be arrested. The law enforcement officials were unable to give information regarding his whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Dr Shammi Ahmed, the international affairs secretary of the Awami League, denied the claims made by Shahed.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration) of DGHS, said that she was unaware of the hospital giving out fake Covid-19 results.
“Whenever the government and the DGHS contacted the authorities at Regent Hospital, they used to show us that they had collected a large number of coronavirus samples to establish that everything was okay.
“However, at the time we did not receive any complaints regarding such irregularities and misconduct. Besides, we stopped collecting samples from them when we learned that they were charging for the tests,” she added.
When asked how a hospital that did not have its license renewed for the last six years was operating and had managed to land a government contract, she told this correspondent to contact Dr Aminul Hasan, director (hospitals and clinics) of DGHS, for answers.
“The Health Ministry too can provide answers regarding the issue,” she added.
However, Dr Aminul Hasan could not be reached despite repeated attempts over the phone.
Commenting on allegations that Regent Hospital had obtained DGHS approval through its owner’s political influence, she said: “The present situation has now made everything clear. You will see photos of Shahed with Health Ministry high ups and with DGHS officials circulating on Facebook and other media.
“He must have used his political connections to get what he wanted.”
She further claimed that as it was a health emergency when Regent Hospital was included in the list of Covid-19 dedicated hospitals the documents of the hospital were not checked accurately.
“Not all updated documents were scrutinized due to the severity of the outbreak.
“Besides, at the time there was a huge rush and pressure of patients at all of our hospitals. The DGHS, after considering all the factors, permitted Regent Hospital to operate.”
On June 7, Prof. Dr. Baizid Khoorshid Riaz, Director, National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), wrote a letter to the DGHS concerning the irregularities and scams of this hospital.
In the letter, it was said that Regent Hospital was collecting samples and charging Tk3,500 for each test though such tests were supposed to be free as the government was bearing the costs and providing the rt-PCR kits free to Covid-19 dedicated hospitals.
Despite this letter, however, the DGHS continued to collect samples from Regent Hospital.