Despite the continuous drives in different government hospital, the greedy brokers are still active in the hospitals, depriving the poor patients from taking health services.
However, law enforcing agencies vowed to continue their anti-brokers drives in the hospital.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post on Saturday, RAB-3 Commanding Officer Lt Col Arif Mohiuddin said, “We have launched a massive drive in Dhaka Medical College Hospital ( DMCH) to make the oldest hospital broker-free.”
We shall continue our special operation until and unless the last broker is driven out from the hospital, he vowed.
Earlier on February 28, RAB-2 Deputy Commander Major Mohammad Nazmullahel Wadud told this correspondent that his team arrested 42 brokers from four hospitals in the capital's Sher-E-Bangla Nagar area.
He also said that drives were carried out simultaneously at Dhaka Shishu Hospital, National Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Hospital, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Bangladesh, and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
Describing today’s drive, Lt Col Arif Mohiuddin, RAB-3 Director said, “ The DMCH is one of the most reliable hospital in the country. The rare diseases, which cannot be treated in any other hospital in the country, are treated there. “
Common patients come to this hospital for better treatment. But they fall into the clutches of brokers. Patients often are being subjected to various harassments including financial loss, the RAB-3 boss added.
Based on several complaints from the victims, we had intensified our surveillance. We launched a special drive in the DMCH. We raided at the emergency department, outpatient department, various wards, cabins, administrative block and other important departments, he stated.
We found that the brokers were collecting illegal money from patients and their relatives, he continued.
We arrested 58 brokers who were involved in transferring patients to various private hospitals, he continued. A mobile court led by RAB sentenced the brokers on various terms.
During the primary interrogation, the arrested brokers admitted that they first target the new patients, mainly coming from the rural areas.
They try to transfer the patients to the private hospitals to earn commission, the senior RAB official said.
They also take the patients to various diagnostic centers and charge extra for medical various tests.
Some brokers were earning bribes in the name of helping various ways including admission, allotment of seats, collection of examination reports, trolley service, wheel chair service.
They used to keep the patients and relatives of the patients hostage until the money was collected, said Lt Col Arif Mohiuddin.
The arrested brokers were roaming openly from the main gate of the hospital to the emergency department, outpatient department, OT, ward and cabins everywhere.
They also used to collect blood from street hustlers and drug addicts at night and store it in unsanitary conditions and later sell the blood at a high price to relatives of helpless patients. About the brokers in government hospitals, Md Abu Hasan, Executive Magistrate of the RAB Forces Headquarters, said that both the patients and the hospital staff should be well aware to make government hospitals broker-free.