Staff Reporter :
A monitoring body has to be set up for supervising the privately managed healthcare sector, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) suggested.
TIB has urged the government to set up such a oversight entity for supervising, controlling, and ensuring good governance in private sector medical services.
The ongoing campaign of the department of health against illegal private hospitals and clinics across the country is optimistic.
However, the TIB said in a press release that it is not enough to ensure the overall good governance of the sector as irregularities, corruption, and negligence have been established for long.
“That is why the organization has sought a strong body of authority as a long-term solution,” TIB said.
Referring to the 2018 research of TIB on the challenges of good governance in the private medical sector, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, “The huge number of new licences and renewal applications submitted just one day after the government drive began proves that there is a clear lack of proper supervision in the private healthcare sector.”
He said that in such a situation, it was questionable how effective the ongoing drive will be in ensuring good governance “in the current and anarchic sector.
TIB suggested to finalize the long-awaited draft law for the control and supervision of private medical services.
For the long-term benefits, it is important to create a strong and impartial body to monitor the quality of the private healthcare sector that could ensure good governance, the expert said.
TIB’s findings – “Private Medical Services: Challenges of Good Governance and Ways to Overcome”, elaborates how the trends of commercialization of the sector, the profit-oriented service system, and the lack of monitoring and supervision by the government have made the general people hostages to them.
The advocacy body considers it as a vital responsibility of all concerned, including the government.
It suggested the authorities to take effective measures to control inhumanely corrupt people; the question of life and death is a fundamental issue in healthcare, the release said.
