In a bid to ensure the attendance of all doctors and staffs, the health directorate has instructed all upazila health complexes to start using biometrics authentication system.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has already completed installing the devices at 370 upazila health complexes, while the rest of the facilities are expected to get the machines by next month.
Sources said the DGHS issued a circular on September 10 directing all health officials to ensure doctors' attendance through the newly introduced system.
The circular also advised authorities concerned to inform it if any machine was to go out of order.
The move came as most doctors reportedly continued to ignore the prime minister’s calls for regular attendance at their offices.
Once the devices are installed, all doctors and staffs would be required to place their thumbs on a slot in the machine for fingerprint matching while entering or exiting workplaces to register their attendance.
Dr Ehteshamul Hoque Chowdhury, director (administration) of the DGHS, told the Dhaka Tribune that even though there was no shortage of doctors at present, authorities concerned wanted to ensure the doctors' attendance at their workplaces.
The biometrics attendance machines were brought in to achieve that goal. All necessary machines would be set up by next month to meet the primary goal of ensuring doctors' attendance at all upazila health complexes, Ehtesham said.
Dr Abul Kalam Azad, additional director general (planning) and also director of MIS (Management Information System) of the health directorate, claimed that the DGHS was trying to make the system familiar to all health sector employees. He expressed hopes that all doctors would get used to the digital attendance system within the next few months.
On April 20, a letter was sent from the Prime Minister’s Office to the DGHS, asking authorities concerned to introduce the biometrics attendance machines. The letter, signed by PMO Director Dr Md Zulfiqur Ali, also asked the DGHS to send a report regarding the measures it took.
The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that biometrics machines had already been set up at the facilities nearly a year ago; but almost all the upazila complexes failed to introduce the system for their employees. Many of the previously installed machines went out of order because they stayed idle for so long.
Asked about this, Dr Ehthesham, however, said there were only 18 machines currently out of order.
Sources said the country currently had over 100 committees, including 62 within the Health Ministry, to monitor and supervise the presence of doctors and take healthcare services to people’s doorsteps.
However several senior health sector officials told the Dhaka Tribune that only a handful of those committees were functional.
Currently, the public medical facilities are employing over 26,000 doctors including 6,000 new doctors, most of whom were posted at different upazila health complexes and union sub-centres.
