Reza Mahmud :
Privately managed hospitals and clinics are charging abnormally high medical fees making health service seekers vulnerable.
Sources said, a large number of patients used to take medical services from privately managed hospitals instead of going to the public ones.
People, in most cases show reluctant of getting health services from public hospitals due to various reasons.
Public health experts said two main reasons driven the medical service seekers to the private health facilities.
One of those is the behaviour of the physicians, nurses and employees of the government hospitals is not friendly enough and the second is audacity of agents.
A good number of agents stay in public health care facilities area to convince the patients to their stipulated private hospitals.
Many doctors are also involved with this unholy practices.
Sources said, those hospitals, diagnosis centers and clinics used to charge Tk 15000 to nearly one lakh taka in cases of caesarian operations.
Apart from these, the private health care facilities used to take patients to intensive care units (ICU) only for collecting high fees. They used to collect Tk 30 thousand to one lakh of taka from patients as per their ability, different victims alleged.
When a test cost Tk 200, Tk 500 or Tk 1000 in government facilities, the private ones charge about Tk 5000 to Tk20,000.
Sources said, such fraudulent hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers are established in certain areas in the capital as like Chankharpul, Bangshal, Green Road, Central Road, Hatirpool, Elephant Road, Moghbazar, Karwanbazar, Mirpur and adjacent areas.
When contacted, Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Adviser of theWrold Health Organisation (WHO) told The New Nation on Wednesday, “Availing hospital facilities of their choices are the choice and responsibility of the patients or their relatives.
We have a government health system reaching up-to village wards level with community clinics from national level hospitals. But functional strength are quite questionable.”
“Even the Upazilla health complexes are not properly functional. People are not satisfied with the services and care. While there are huge number of private clinics to render services,” the public health expert said.
The government should establish a proper functioning national mechanism with adopting a strong policy to ensure quality of health care services, The Professor added.
When contacted, Dr. Salahuddin Mollah, a consultant physicians of Lab Aid Hospital, told The New Nation on Wednesday, “Though the medical services are developed and well in public hospitals now, meanwhile a large number of patients used to take health services from the private facilities due to various reasons including distrust on those public facilities.”
A good number of patients think that medical treatment will be more sophisticated in private hospitals, the doctor said.
But, they become sufferers when they have to pay the abnormally high bills.
“Private hospitals and clinics are charging huge high service fees, most of the patients alleged to us,” the physician said.
Recently, government agencies conducted drives against illegally run hospitals and clinics, but the documented facilities who charging extra high fees remaining out of actions.
Meanwhile, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) recently asked the government to form a body to supervise the privately run health care facilities.
