HC summons health DG over setting up ICU at district hospitals

High Court has summoned director general of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to appear before it on January 8 to know the progress about setting up Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Coronary Care Unit (CCU) at all district level hospitals.

The court also summoned director (hospitals and clinics) of the DGHS on the same day over the same issue.

The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by Human Rights Lawyers and Environment Society of Bangladesh seeking necessary orders in this regard.

Deputy Attorney General Md Noor us Sadik told The Daily Star that the HC had earlier wanted to know from the DGHS specifically what steps have been taken to set up 30-bed ICU and CCU at all the district level hospitals.

The DGHS then informed the HC that it has formed a committee to collect information from all the hospitals about ICU and CCU but it has not yet informed the committee's actions and steps to the HC, he said.

At a stage of the hearing today, petitioner's lawyer Advocate Bashir Ahmed prayed to the HC to summon the DG of DGHS and its director (hospitals and clinics) to know the progress about setting up ICU and CCU at all hospitals.

Following the same writ petition filed by Human Rights Lawyers and Environment Society of Bangladesh, the HC on July 24 last year issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why they should not be ordered to take steps for setting up ICU or CCU at all the general hospitals at district headquarters.

On May 21 this year, the DGHS submitted a report to the HC saying that Tk 53 lakh is needed for setting up an ICU and Tk 23 lakh is needed for installing a CCU in a hospital.

There are 340 ICU at the public hospitals, 573 ICU at private hospitals and 344 CCU at private hospitals across the country, the DGHS report said.