The Covid-19 pandemic has not been easy on Bangladesh.
To date, we have seen over 4,000 deaths in the country, and it does not appear to be slowing down any time soon. However, in the midst of this pandemic, there is no room for mismanagement and negligence, particularly on the part of the health sector, which is needed more than ever to operate as efficiently as possible.
To that end, news that there remain close to a hundred unregistered clinics and unregistered diagnostic centres running in Khulna is alarming, and certainly a cause for concern.
Timely registration and license renewal, beyond the fact that they ensure the legality of operations of the institution, are vital in ensuring that clinics and diagnostic centres are up to the mark, be it their treatments, or equipment used.
Therefore, with these illegal clinics and centres continuing operations, there is little accountability and transparency. This is an extremely dangerous predicament; the people of Bangladesh are already suffering, and the last thing they need are illegal medical institutions offering inadequate treatment and with subpar medical equipment.
However, this once again looks to be a failure of the Department of Health. It is their responsibility to ensure that such clinics and centres do not get the scope of operating illegally and endanger the lives of citizens.
They have repeatedly come under fire with regards to how they have operated during the pandemic, and this is another example of their inadequacy.
It is time to fix this. These unlicensed clinics and centres must not be allowed to operate without renewal, and the Department of Health must ensure that such operations are not allowed the opportunity in the future.
