Staff Reporter :
Being frustrated at improper and inadequate medical and clinical facilities in the country, many patients are not opting for their treatments in the neighbouring countries especially India.
Many of the patients who have returned home after taking treatment in the neighbouring countries said that they received better treatment at low cost in those countries.
The trend of taking medical treatment and consultancy in other countries gain momentum as ‘medial tourism’ since 2010.
Though the coronavirus held back the trend of foreign treatment for two years, it is again gaining its momentum from this year.
Medical experts said that the patients have their choices to take medical treatments both home and abroad.
But when a large pool of patients goes abroad for treatment, it shows that the country has poor medical services and at the same time a large sums of money flights to other countries.
Emeritus Professor ABM Abdullah said, “There is a trust deficit in the country’s medical system. Patients go abroad for the weakness in medical services here.”
He also pointed out that the number of physicians is less compared with the patients.
“Now we see mounting pressure of patients in the private hospitals. The medical services of government hospitals in the neighbouring countries are poor. But the private hospitals provide quality services,” he added.
Sources said that patients are going abroad for improved treatment. People are standing in long queues before the High Commissions and Embassies in Dhaka for medical visas.
According to Bangladesh Outbound Tour Operators Forum, at least eight lakh people go abroad for medical treatment. Of them, a big chunk of patients go to India while Thailand and Singapore are in second and third position respectively.
Every year around 400 crore dollars are spend for medical services abroad. But in the last seven years, it has become double.
Last year in June, Times of India published a report saying that about 54.3 per cent patients visit India from Bangladesh
for medical services. Bangladesh government spent 2.9 per cent of the GDP in the FY 2021-22, which is lower compared with the neighbouring countries.
Nepal spent 5.2 per cent of the GDP, Sri Lanka 3.1 percent, Myanmar 4.6 per cent, India spent 3.6 percent, and Pakistan spent 2.9 per cent. Vietnam spent the highest in this region, which is 6.4 per cent.
Health experts said though Bangladesh has improved infrastructure, its service is not satisfactory.
A physician in many cases cannot diagnose the disease for heavy pressure of patients in the hospitals and clinics, they said.
When patients do not get improved treatment here or hear bitter experiences from relatives, they choose to go abroad for the service, they observed.
Health Minister Zahid Malik said, that the government has undertaken a number of projects to cut the trend of going abroad for treatment.
The government will introduce annual health check-up for all at a nominal expense from next year, he said adding that it will help cut the tendency to go abroad and the medical cost will come down.
