A mobile court has fined at least 32 medical representatives (MRs) in Kishoreganj 250-bed Modern Sadar Hospital for trouble and harassment to the patients and doctors.
Kishoreganj Senior Judicial Magistrate Abu Taher Md Sayeed told this to the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.
“We have detained 32 MRs coming from different medicine companies around 2pm for entering into the hospital during hospital hours and fined Tk1,000 for each medical representative,” Taher said.
However, they were released after paying fined money and taking written statements (bond signature) not to come inside the hospital during hospital hours again, he added.
The indoor and outdoor patients and their attendances in modern sadar hospital alleged that they are facing trouble and harassments by these medical representatives and brokers at the hospital in recent times.
Shamsul Alam Shahin, a patient from sadar area said: “The activities of the medical representatives, brokers inside the hospital make confusion among us whether they are outsiders or hospital staff."
The troublemakers deceive the patients and their attendance in many ways after taking advantages of the vulnerable situation of the patients, he added.
He alleged that they work together with the nurses and ward boys since after admission of the patients into the hospital.
"Even they are seen pushing saline and injection and do some minor works for the patients alongside the hospital staffs," Shahin said.
Supporting Shahin’s allegation, the other patients of the hospital said many of the troublemakers take the admitted patients, the poor and marginalised in particular to various inferior private clinics and diagnostic centers and cheat them.
Civil surgeon of the hospital Dr Mrinal Kanti Pandit denied the allegations and said excessive pressure of the patients hamper proper management in the hospital. For 400 patients there would have 900 attendances. So, it becomes difficult for the authorities to detect who are outsiders or attendances.
However, he said if the allegation is found true, punitive measures will be taken against the troublemakers. If the middlemen, hospital staffs are found guilty, they must be brought to book, he added.
He also said the hospital administration is trying its best to free the hospital from all sorts of corruption and irregularities in the interests of the patients.
