SEVERAL private medical college hospitals in the country have failed to keep 10 percent of their beds free for poor patients in violation of existing regulations as per the Private Medical College Establishment and Management Policy 2011. At present, a total of 53 private medical colleges and hospitals are operating in the country, as reported by a local daily.
Bangladesh Medical Association Secretary General Iqbal Arslan said that one of the major objectives of establishing private medical colleges and hospitals was to widen the health care facility for the poor and reduce the pressure on public hospitals which provide services to more patients than their capacity.
DMCH Deputy Director Mushfiqur Rahman said that on an average, 3,000 patients remain admitted to the 2,400-bed hospital. Health bulletin 2013, which is the data book of country’s health care sector, said that three private medical colleges – Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital in Sylhet, Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital and ZH Sikder Women’s Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka – have less than 10 percent free beds for poor patients.
According to the Health bulletin, the 890-bed Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College Hospital has kept only nine beds free for poor patients.
It is fairly easy to understand why private medical colleges can so openly flout regulations. They know that the regulators care not a whit about the inability of poor people to pay for their health care and thus also don’t care if they have illnesses of a serious nature. Thus no one is worried whether the poorest segment of society are healthy or not or whether they get free or affordable treatment or not. If colleges can get away with this knowing that they would never face serious punishment then why would they bother?
Another reason is of course mainly economic – one bed kept for poor patients who can’t pay means one less bed is available for persons who can indeed pay – why keep beds for poor patients and suffer an economic loss in terms of the opportunity cost which would occur if such beds were to be kept free? In simpler words, business interests dominate the humanitarian consideration.
Only a stringent implementation of the rules – with strict provisos of punishment for the repeat offenders which could possibly include taking away their licenses – or hefty fines which would punish them economically would persuade these colleges to keep the regulations in mind. If their revenue generation capabilities are hurt they would definitely think twice before defying regulations.
