The government is going to appoint a total of 5,500 new doctors at different public hospitals across the country soon, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said today.

The doctors will be appointed under BCS (health) cadres by the next year, the health minister said this while addressing a programme at Directorate General of Family Planning in Kawran Bazar area of Dhaka this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the government has appointed 4,500 doctors though it gave approval for appointing 10,000 new doctors two and half years ago, the minister said.

Claiming that Bangladesh needs one lakh doctors and three lakh nurses, the minister said there are only 35,000 thousand doctors and 35,000 nurses in the country.

Government has decided to build four new medical colleges in four district headquarters to ensure people's treatment facilities, Zahid Maleque also said.