People seeking healthcare services in the capital’s private hospitals and diagnostic centres are largely being deceived as most of these healthcare institutions are run without adequate doctors and facilities, claimed officials at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
About 80% of some 60 private healthcare establishments in the capital were found to be flouting the rules imposed by the government in one way or other, including the overall tendency of operating without the required number of graduate doctors and health assistants, said the officials.
DGHS Deputy Director Dr Swapan Kumar Tapadar, also the chief of the committee entrusted with the monitoring of private hospitals in the capital, said it was found during the inspection that most of the private healthcare institutions neither have the required number of doctors, diploma nurses nor the necessary space for a patient.
He also noted that although at least one medical technologist is supposed to be on duty round the clock in pathological centres, the lab attendants were found to be carrying out the works of medical technologists in many centres.
Besides, there is a lack of necessary equipment in many diagnostic centres, Swapan said. According to the DGHS, there are 3,827 government-approved private clinics and 8,111 athological ones across the country and over 1500 of these are located in Dhaka city.
Sources at the DGHS said a number of clinics and diagnostic centres are also operating across the country without licenses.
The monitoring committee has recently identified such unlicensed health institutions in the capital, they added.
They, however, declined to disclose the names of the unlicensed health institutions.
Officials of both the Health Ministry and DGHS officials said the authorities of private clinics and pathological centres, in most cases, hire doctors, nurses and other equipment while applying to the DGHS for approval.
About irregularities by private health establishments, DGHS director (Education and HMPD) Prof Dr ABM Abdul Hannan said it is mandatory for private healthcare establishments to get the approval of the DGHS before starting their operation.
He said though the authorities of private clinics and diagnostic centres show necessary documents while applying to DGHS for the approval, most of them later violate the conditions on which the approval is given.
In order to obtain the approval, a private clinic must have an 80 square-foot space for one patient and three graduate doctors for every 10 patients.
Besides, the clinics have to have required number of diploma nurses and cleaners for obtaining the approval from the DGHS. Similarly, pathological centres must have adequate equipment in order to get the approval.
A three-member DGHS team is now monitoring all the private clinics and hospitals in the city while another team outside Dhaka. Civil surgeons are also monitoring clinics at district level.
