A sheer waste of public money

It is disappointing to learn about the numerous development projects taken up by the government that ended up not serving the public as promised because of lack of necessary research, proper planning, and execution. Although these projects failed to bring desired results, a lot of public money was spent on them. One example of this is the 21 trauma centres that were built in the last 20 years along our highways. According to a recent report by Prothom Alo, almost all of these centres remain inoperative as there is neither the manpower nor the equipment required to run them. The question is, why were these centres built then?

Reportedly, among these 21 trauma centres, 16 are currently inoperative, two have only outdoor units, while one is currently being used as the orthopaedic department of a district hospital. These centres were constructed along the highways with the aim to quickly transport and treat the injured in the event of a road crash, so that lives could be saved. But that purpose was defeated by the lack of initiative on the part of our health authorities. After the recent tragic road crash on the Dhaka-Bhanga expressway, we have seen how the injured had to be taken to several upazila health complexes and even to a private hospital near the expressway for treatment. If the nearby trauma centre were functional, the injured could get proper treatment on time. This is really frustrating.

And now, after spending around Tk 140 crore on the construction of these centres, the Director of Health Directorate (Hospitals and Clinics) is telling us that the idea of a trauma centre is not realistic in the context of Bangladesh, and that they are planning to repurpose these unutilised buildings. However, it is not clear why the government can't put them to proper use by appointing the required manpower – doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians, etc. – and handing them proper equipment? Given the extremely high number of road crashes taking place on our highways, these centres can certainly play a great role in treating the injured. We think the government should consider this fact before abandoning these projects.

The fate of these trauma centres again exposes the sheer lack of accountability in our health department. If there was any accountability, such projects could not be taken without doing the necessary feasibility study. If there was any accountability, so much public money could not be wasted on projects doomed to failure. This is just one example of how lack of planning and execution has been plaguing many finished government projects. We have seen many such ill-planned projects undertaken by government institutions, including the railway ministry in the last few years alone. Such practices must stop. Those responsible for these projects must be held to account.