The health authorities transferred three deputy directors of Rangpur Medical College Hospital on Sunday, five days after the stand-release of 16 staff members of the same syndicate accused of gross irregularities and harassment of service seekers.
The order, signed by Zakia Parveen, deputy secretary of the Department of Health, was sent to the hospital via fax in the morning.
The trio are Dr Md Abdul Mokaddes, Dr Mostafa Zaman Chowdhury and Dr Md Arshad Hossain. They have been asked to join their new offices within seven days.
Hospital Director Dr Shariful Hasan confirmed receiving the transfer order but declined to give details. Since joining the post a month ago, he has made several decisions to streamline regular activities at the hospital.
According to sources, the hospital authorities have prepared a list of 75 more officials and staff members involved in corruption for a long time, putting medical services on the brink of collapse where hundreds of patients from different districts visit the hospital every day.
The deputy directors allegedly gave shelter to the fourth-class staff members, allowing them to continue their misdeeds, including trolley trade, medicine smuggling, fraud by brokers, and harassment of patients and their relatives in the name of medical care.
They were also involved in voucher fraud, supplying low-quality food, and embezzling money to repair medical equipment.
Highly-placed sources said the transfer orders for around 75 more officials and staff members would be issued any day.
Earlier, the 16 staff members were transferred to different hospitals in the country by the Department of Health on September 27. The kingpins of the syndicate are employees’ union leaders, some of whom have multiple murder cases against them, while some have been under suspension for a long time.
On September 19, Dr Rashedul Amir of the Orthopedics Department complained to the hospital director, alleging that the staff members had demanded tips for admission and other purposes when he brought his mother for treatment. Three contractual employees were relieved of their duties immediately.
In protest against such harassment, all senior teachers of Rangpur Medical College, doctors and interns held a human chain and rally in front of the hospital on September 26 and demanded that the authorities take action within 24 hours.
