Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital authority has introduced a visitor-fee system aimed at checking the rush of visitors.
The SBMCH sources said the authority recently in a meeting had taken the decision that entrance fee would be imposed on visitors from November 1, and the fee for each visitor has been fixed at Tk10.
At least 12 staffs of the hospital were deployed at the three entrance gates of hospital to collect the visitor-fee.
On average, about 1,100-1,300 patients remain under treatment at 35 wards of the hospital.
The hospital would be able to earn Tk10,000 daily and Tk3 lakh in a month from the newly-introduced system.
But many employees of the hospital are not happy with the system. They said the system would create opportunities of corruption for many dishonest staff.
Most of the visitors to the public hospital come from lower income group of rural areas. It is difficult for them to be already paying for medical fees; the entrance fee will just combine the proble, said Anowar Zahid, a health right activist.
Dr Mizanur Rahman, former resident medical officer of Barisal General Hospital, a unit under SBMCH and member-secretary of Bibhagio Swartha Sangrakkhan Committee, said the SBMCH also tried to introduce this system at General Hospital, but they failed.
Dr Kamrul Hasan Selim, director of the SBMCH, acknowledged that collection of visitor-fee had been introduced from November 1 and authority would introduce free attendant-card to control visitors and take care of the patient.
He also claimed that proper use of visitor-fee would enhance development of medicare services at hospital, but failed to give details about the collected amount, heads of expenditure and exact balance of the deposits.
