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Middlemen rule at DMCH

KAUSAR ISLAM AYON
The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) has been literally taken over my middlemen who in association with some employees are active in persuading patients out of the hospital and into private clinics.
The syndicate has become very strong with influential officials of the DMCH reportedly supporting the brokers in exchange of financial benefits. "Many staff members and patients have become their hostages," said an employee of DMCH.
The middlemen in the guise of a regular employee of the DMCH or a sympathetic person, trap the patients. They have access to every department of the hospital. They consult with the doctors, provide medicine and other
essentials and even inject or dress patients to gain their trust. Their main goal however is to woo the patients away to private clinics for which they receive commissions.
"We always pray to Allah so that He does not send anybody here for treatment. I have been working here for the last 10 years and I can tell you that your patient will not get proper treatment here," a broker was overheard telling a patient's attendant. He then tried to lure him into going to a private clinic.
"Here the treatment would take more than a month. You have to spend Tk 1000 a day, so that is Tk 30,000 a month. In addition to that there is the extra cost for operation. I can arrange everything at a private clinic for Tk 40,000 and you can go home within seven days."
He also cited the lack of space, sincere doctors and modern equipment at the DMCH and was eventually successful in convincing the patient who had a tumor, and his attendant to move to Bridgetone Hospital. The overall cost was fixed at Tk 38,000 under a package agreement.
The incident mentioned above is a very common scene at every corner of the DMCH. According to sources at the hospital, at least 15 - 25 patients leave the DMCH everyday without completing the treatment. Sometimes, many serious patients are taken away without proper precautions which has even resulted in deaths.
"In such cases, we close the file and complete our duty by registering the person as an
absconding patient," said a senior nurse of DMCH.
The middlemen at DMCH had been ousted after a patient passed away at the hospital's gate in April. A group of middlemen were trying to take the bullet-hit victim to a private clinic and in the delay due to the skirmish, he died. But the brokers came back only after 10 days.
Apart from the brokers, drug addicts also roam openly inside the hospital and theft is a common happening.
When contacted, the hospital's authorities declined to speak to the press on the issue. The director of DMCH could not be reached for his comments despite several attempts.