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Hospitals get equipment before staff

NAIMUL HAQ
The health ministry is furnishing two hospitals with expensive equipment without recruiting adequate number of physicians and technicians for three years under the constituencies of the prime minister and health minister in Bogra and Comilla.
An investigation by The Daily Star has found the ministry has procured and sent equipment worth over Tk 3 crore to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hospital and Daudkandi Upazila Health Complex.
The pieces of equipment were sent without a plan to create posts for physicians and technicians to
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operate those. Besides, allocation of more medical gadgets to the hospitals is pending, sources said.
Except for a few tools, most have been bought at least two years ago and are still in their original packs. The gadgets are not even stored properly and may be damaged anytime, said the sources.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain denied supplying equipment to the Bogra hospital. He said, "I don't understand how can one send equipment in advance when construction of the hospital building is yet to complete."
On supply of medical tools to the health complex, the minister said he does not have knowledge about such an allegation.
"I often visit my hometown and also pay visit to Daudkandi Health Complex but none of the officials has ever told me about medical equipment not in use."
However, equipment worth over Tk 2 crore has been sent to Tk 213-crore Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Hospital, although its construction is still on.
"It's evident the expensive equipment for MRI, Ultrasonogram and X-ray would be lying idle and eventually dilapidated. I don't know how the government knowing this could take such a decision," said a doctor asking not to be named.
The hospital's construction began in January 2002 and is expected to complete by December this year. By end of the year, the hospital is likely to receive equipment worth Tk 70 crore. But no post of technicians has yet been created to run those.
Initially, the hospital will require 901-strong staff but no-one has been recruited until now, reports our Bogra correspondent.
As many as 250 technicians and operators were supposed to be recruited at least six months before expiry of its project in June, sources said.
Under the project for establishing five medical college hospitals, the 500-bed one on 40 acres of land in
Bogra, home district of late president Ziaur Rahman, is getting maximum funding, sources said.
They said financial allocation for four other medical college hospitals in Khulna, Comilla, Rangpur and Faridpur is on average less than Tk 30 crore.
The Comilla Medical College and Hospital has received Tk 30 crore for expansion of its bed capacity to 500 from 250 and other purposes. The allocation includes Tk 9.5 crore for purchase of equipment.
Daudkandi Health Complex, locally known as by its mock name "aususthya (sick) upazila sasthya kendra, has received equipment worth over Tk 50 lakh.
Dental unit, Ultrasonogram and high-tech X-ray machines and other gadgets are lying untouched in their original wrappings at the health complex for three years.
On the contrary, spot visits to other upazila health complexes in the district including Chandina, Burichang, Homna, Langalkot, Titas, Brahmanpara and Gouripur reveals none of them posses such equipment.
All of these health complexes lack medical devices except for a handful of surgical instruments.
"We can't use the equipment because we don't have technicians to operate those," said a source at Daudkandi Health Complex.
The health complex also lacks adequate number of doctors and nurses to offer healthcare facilities. The medical officer, storekeeper and other staff allegedly remain absent from duties most of the time.
Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Md Abdur Rab, in-charge of the health complex, denied the allegation.
He claimed all the medical equipment including the dental unit is in regular use. "Since the health complex is located in the home town of the health minister, we strive to offer best possible care to patients," he explained