Why govt hospital machines dysfunctional for years?

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has asked the health authorities in Rangpur division to explain why expensive medical equipment in government hospitals remain dysfunctional for years.

He warned of stern action against officials responsible for the situation.

The minister made the remarks while addressing a meeting with the top divisional health officials, civil surgeons and superintendents of district hospitals at M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital in Dinajpur on Friday afternoon.

Mentioning that hospitals have been established from union parishad to district levels, Zahid Maleque asked, “Why people are going to even small private clinics in upazila despite having a strong health care network?”

“Every hospital has been provided with necessary machinery in accordance with its capacity, but the machinery remains dysfunctional for years. Machinery worth crores of taka are lying dysfunctional for years in the government hospitals while even in small clinics, various medical tests are conducted smoothly. Why do machines only in government hospitals lie dysfunctional for years? Why not in private clinics?” he asked.

According to the minister, 450 types of machinery, out of 500, have been found dysfunctional in Rangpur Medical College and Hospital. And the situation is more or less the same in every government hospital.

Zahid Maleque said if the private clinics can provide timely services, why the doctors who are availing government facilities cannot provide proper services.

Warning the health authorities that such practices would not be allowed further, he said stern action would be taken against officials reluctant to do their job.

Addressing the meeting, the minister said every district hospital would be upgraded to 500 beds while every upazila hospital to 100 beds.

At present, the district hospital hospitals accommodate 200 to 250 beds while the upazila level hospitals accommodate 50 beds.

The health minister is accompanied by the Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Professor Dr Khurshid Alam and senior officials from different hospitals and clinics under the DGHS.