The government will not allow the private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres that were closed down or sealed off last week to resume operations until they acquire proper validations.
"We have not stopped the operation. We will continue this drive until further notice -- not as a crash program, but rather as routine work. At present, the drives are being carried out mostly outside Dhaka,” Md Belal Hossain, director (hospital) of the Directorate General of Health Services, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“It is normal to conduct drives to check on licences and other documents of new hospitals. Due to Covid-19, our supervision work lagged much in the last two years.
“In contrast to the large number of private health centers, the manpower of the DGHS’ hospital branch is very inadequate,” Belal said.
There are around 11,000 diagnostic centres in the country.
Citing that only unregistered health facilities were closed during the drive, DGHS sources said that they had received 598 applications seeking licences in the last few days, while nearly 2,300 applications remained pending.
“Administrative teams from the DGHS will verify the applications to check if they meet the conditions set by the health authorities. Registration will be issued in phases by judging the capacity and quality of service,” Belal added.
Asked why the owners of the illegal health facilities were not brought under the law, he said the health authorities were giving them time so that they were able to resume business in line with proper rules after obtaining their licences.
As of Tuesday, the DGHS had closed down 1,349 unregistered private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres across the country.
“If any hospital or lab fails to meet the conditions, it will remain shut,” Belal added.
On May 26, the DGHS issued a notification ordering a closure of all unauthorized clinics and diagnostic centers across the country within 72 hours. The raids began on May 28.
Officials of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection are conducting separate drives to check on the quality of service at the health facilities.
Why this raid
Authorities are currently conducting drives against illegal diagnostic centers to avert victimization and harassment of service seekers and to improve the standard of healthcare services, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Wednesday.
DGHS Director Belal Hossain said: “The government expects that the owners of health facilities will follow due procedures after they start the business, taking into account the needs of consumers.”
He added that the ongoing drives would ensure accountability of those organizations and help improve health services at private hospitals, clinics and labs.
The service seekers of the private hospitals and clinics facing action could avail of services at different government hospitals, the DGHS official suggested.
Belal added that the authorities could not initiate such raids regularly in the recent past as the health authorities were busy handling a worsening Covid situation.
What is needed to apply?
The Department of Health under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is working to ensure public health services at all levels of Bangladesh. The hospital and clinic branch of the department is the controlling branch of all government hospitals at the secondary and the tertiary levels, and all private hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers and blood banks.
The hospital branch is working closely with the line director, the program manager and the deputy manager to implement the operational plan called “Hospital Service Management” aims to make the fourth health, population and nutrition sector program a success, Belal Hossain explained.
An applicant will have to provide information on the existing facilities – list of beds, equipment, doctors and assistants, together with the number of lab tests and surgeries performed.
A clinic must have three MBBS doctors, six nurses and two cleaners to get a licence; each bed must have a total space of 80 square feet area while operation theatres must be air-conditioned.
To start operations, a private hospital or clinic must have a trade license, TIN, Business Identification Number and licence from the Narcotics Department.
While outdoors, emergency services and operation theatres are not mandatory for all clinics, the DGHS may set specific conditions before allowing licences for them to operate.
Once applied for, a DGHS team headed by a deputy director must visit the location to provide the licence.
