A country is often judged by its health care system. While Bangladesh still has miles to go on that front, especially when it comes to meeting demands of a population as large as ours, it is nonetheless shocking that accounts of malpractice and negligence in the field continue unabated.
The most recent incident as such, concerning improper treatment of a woman at a local hospital in Jhenaidah, has claimed yet another life. Maryam Khatun underwent three surgeries at Fatema Private Hospital, the last of which -- owing to the doctor's negligence -- resulted in her untimely demise.
This, just after the recent deaths of a mother and her newborn in an unfit hospital in Dhaka, can be described as nothing short of criminal.
Although legal action has been taken against the authorities involved in Maryam's death, the issue is both too frequent and too severe in nature to be brushed off so easily.
While the entire system cannot be blamed for the utter disregard for human life that some professionals in the medical field demonstrate, the onus is certainly on medical authorities to ensure that carelessness has no room in places where lives are at stake.
Perpetrators of such grave oversights must be held accountable for their actions. The relevant authorities must take strict measures to not only ensure that individuals with low regard for the sanctity of the medical profession are removed from their positions of power, but also that there is no scope left for further accidents as such to take place.
There should be a zero-tolerance policy for such kinds of malpractice -- especially in the medical field, as the literal lives of millions depend on it.
