Three examples of badly-run public hospitals
We are appalled by the findings of a report by The Daily Star on three hospitals run by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), highlighting an acute shortage of staff and underutilised facilities, which cause unnecessary suffering for patients. In a city where accessible healthcare is increasingly out of reach for ordinary citizens, it is unacceptable that these public hospitals offer substandard services. This is a direct result of neglect and apathy from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Ministry of Health, a situation that has worsened over decades.
These hospitals are vital for low-income and lower-middle-class communities, as they offer subsidised healthcare. However, patients are forced to wait for hours due to the severe shortage of doctors, nurses, and other essential staff. As patient numbers rise, one hospital operates with half the required manpower. For instance, Mohanagar General Hospital, which installed ICU units and high-flow oxygen equipment during the Covid pandemic, cannot use them because there are no trained personnel. The surgery department has been non-functional since 2015, and high-dependency unit (HDU) beds installed in 2021 remain unused. Many posts are vacant, further crippling the hospital's ability to function.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
A similar manpower crisis exists at Dhaka Metropolitan Children's Hospital, where the paediatric surgery department has been inactive since 2012, and 40 of the 100 beds remain unused. Nazirabazar Matri Sadan is also grappling with a shortage of doctors and essential medicines.
In all three hospitals, staff are spread too thin, leaving patients without the necessary medical care. Despite repeated official letters sent to the health ministry and DGHS, no action has been taken. These hospitals reflect the dysfunction plaguing public healthcare across the country, with severe staff shortages making them nearly non-functional. The DGHS and health ministry have ignored the needs of these hospitals for years. Why has this been allowed to continue? What happened to the allocated budgets? If they were insufficient, why wasn't more funding provided?
The healthcare system, especially in public hospitals, continues to be marked by gross inadequacies. And the conditions at these hospitals are a perfect example of that. We urge the interim government to immediately investigate these issues and take corrective action. The recruitment of medical personnel should be a top priority, along with the training of staff to operate specialised equipment. Meanwhile, strict management oversight is necessary to ensure that no resources go underutilised. Access to healthcare is a basic right, and the government must restore functionality to these hospitals as soon as possible.
Comments