Improving the quality of medical care in Bangladesh has been a high priority over the last decades and a large share of the health budget in Bangladesh goes to the doctors’ pocket working with the public hospitals and clinics. As salaries are used inefficiently because of poor motivation and performance of doctors, a large chunk of public money gets wasted. Hence, evaluating the performance of doctors is crucial for reinforcing the country’s health system. Needless to say, the government should strive to ensure a better healthcare system for all by improving the country’s public health services.
One major source of inefficient use of salaries is conspicuous absence of doctors and nurses. It is very unfortunate for us as a nation that our government spends millions from its budget to make doctors and equip them with adequate training but these doctors neglect their duties. Reportedly, a doctor of a government hospital in Gopalganj has been absent from work since March 16, 2020. Hospital authorities reported it to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) six months later, even though such an incident should have been reported within 60 days according to service rules.
The government has
taken certain steps to
expand healthcare facilities
at grassroots, but the tendency
of doing private
practice by government doctors is making the task difficult
Though the government has taken many initiatives to modernise the country’s healthcare system with modern and hi-tech facilities, people are not getting the required healthcare services from many centres. The government has taken certain steps to expand healthcare facilities at grassroots, but the tendency of doing private practice by government doctors is making the task difficult.
In Bangladesh, scarcity of doctors is a very common phenomenon particularly in rural areas where they are most needed. According to the Manpower Strategy for SDGs, 4.45 physicians, nurses and midwives are required to provide healthcare to 1000 people. But we currently have one registered physician per 1,847 people. What is more disconcerting is that physicians appointed at public hospitals and health centres have long been involved in private practices, ignoring their duties at their respective workplaces.
As a result, people especially the poor have been the victims of such unlawful and unethical practices over the past many years. In order to put an end to such unethical practices, constant vigilance on the part of the authorities concerned is a must.
