Govt going for DGHS shake-up

Following weeks of controversies and a day after the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) quit, the government has decided to make some reshuffles at the top end of the directorate.

Prof Abul Kalam Azad resigned from the post of DG of DGHS on Tuesday after a blame game between the ministry and the directorate over the signing of a deal with Regent Hospital that issued fake Covid-19 test reports.

The health ministry has now decided to remove Aminul Hasan, director of hospitals and clinics unit of the DGHS. A circular would be issued soon, said sources in the ministry.

They said the director of hospitals and clinics, Aminul, was responsible for making sure that the private hospitals and clinics run following rules. His section was directly responsible for signing deals with hospitals for Covid-19 testing and treatment.

They said the removal of Aminul was just the tip of the iceberg. Officials of other sections, including administration, planning, and government hospital unit, would also be changed soon.

Experts, however, said removing a few people would not solve the problems the health sector has long been facing and a major overhaul was imperative.

"Removing any person will not bring any result, unless the whole system is rearranged. It is urgent to assign skilled, efficient and honest people everywhere, especially in administrative posts," said Prof ABM Abdullah, noted medicine specialist.

"If we do not take effective measures, our development will be hampered. We have to take up programmes to rearrange the entire system," he told The Daily Star.

Ehteshamul Huq Choudhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Medical Association, said, "The government has started at the right place. But removing only a person will not bear any fruit. Everyone involved in irregularities and the inefficient people have to be removed.

"Besides, the people involved in anomalies must be held accountable."

If any allegation is raised against the health ministry, it should also be investigated and people responsible should be held accountable, he said.

He suggested forming a national commission to look into problems in the health sector and make recommendations to the government.

Meanwhile, a team of Detective Branch of police went to DGHS yesterday afternoon and spoke to Prof Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration), and Aminul over JKG Health Care's fake Covid-19 testing.

They wanted to collect evidence regarding JKG's "Chairman" Sabrina Arif Chowdhury and Chief Executive Officer Ariful Haque Chowdhury and their involvement in the scam, said DB sources.

There were reports of mismanagement and irregularities centring the state-run organisation that spearheads the country's war on Covid-19. The fraudulence of Regent Hospital and JKG over coronavirus testing brought the directorate's deals with hospitals into the spotlight.

Amid controversies and severe criticism, embattled DGHS director general Prof Azad quit on Tuesday and his resignation was accepted yesterday.

Four people have been shortlisted to replace Azad, sources said. The shortlisted are: Nasima Sultana, AHM Enayet Hussain, director general of Medical Education at the DGHS, Nazmul Islam Munna, line director of medical education at the DGHS, and Bayezid Khurshid Zahan, director of the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM).

A high official of the DGHS seeking anonymity told this newspaper yesterday that intelligence agencies had already started vetting these people.

Speaking on the appointment of a new DG, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the decision of appointing a new DG would be made after consulting with people concerned.

"If necessary, we will talk to the highest level of the government," he added.

He said a taskforce had been formed to examine any irregularities in public, private hospitals and clinics.

"HEALTH SERVICES IMPROVED"

During yesterday's briefing at his ministry, Health Minister Zahid claimed that his ministry was doing well in the fight against the pandemic, compared to the US and other countries.

The death rate from the virus is 6 percent globally and 10 percent in the US. But the mortality rate is 1.26 percent in Bangladesh, he said.

"This yardstick confirms that we have done a good job," he said.

The minister said the number of patients in hospitals dedicated to Covid-19 dropped by half, especially in Dhaka city. "You may ask why, because the health services have been improved a lot," he said.

More than 3,000 Covid-19 beds are vacant in Dhaka now, he said.

Zahid said the government would decide on the application of Chinese Covid-19 vaccine in the country after discussing with the national technical advisory committee.

"We are closely observing the efficacy of vaccines under development globally … we are communicating with countries that are in the final stage of coronavirus vaccine development," he said.