The 51 union sub-centers and 194 community clinics in Narsingdi frustrate locals of the district with poor quality services.
The ill maintained clinics and healthcare centers remain closed most of the time and when they are open, most of the employees are found to be absent.
The locals complained that the Community Health Care Providers (CHCP) are not trained properly. Moreover, they do not come to the clinics regularly. The CHCP, when they are available, do not give the patients anything other than paracetamol and antacids, though the 31 types of medicines supplied by the government every three months are shown distributed among the patients regularly, the locals also complained. They said many CHCPs have their own pharmacies and they sell the medicines supplied by the government through their pharmacies.
This reporter found the community clinics in Gojaria union and Chinishpur union closed last Saturday.
Mobarak Hossain, a local from the Noakanda village, said the Noakanda Community Clinic is open only for two hours, from 9am to 11am, on Saturdays and Sundays.
Buruj Mia, from Narshingharchar area, said the employees of the community clinics open and close the clinics as they wish.
On the other hand, patients cannot find proper services from the 51 union sub-centers in the district. The physicians’ posts in 7 of the union sub-centers are vacant, and appointed doctors from the other sub-centers are working on deputation in different hospitals in the district. Besides, many of the doctors cannot visit their offices regularly because of the lack of facilities in their union offices.
Rafiqul Islam, the UP chairman of Char Ujilab under Belabo upazila, said no doctor occupies the office in that union sub-center, and he does not know why.
When contacted, Syed Md Sajjad Jalal, the doctor posted in that union, said he is currently performing his duties in the Belabo Upazila Health Complex, because of the want of physicians there. Besides, the infrastructure in that union sub-center is not developed completely.
The District Civil Surgeon Dr Putul Roy told to the Dhaka Tribune that maybe some doctors and employees are negligent, but it is not true that the locals cannot find any services from those community clinics and union and sub-centers.
The civil surgeon also informed that recently she sent a show cause notice to eight of the CHCPs from the Belabo upazila, when she could not find any of them available in their offices, and assured this reporter that any other irregularities will be dealt with appropriate measures.
