Do not harass patients with unnecessary tests, President Hamid asks physicians

President M Abdul Hamid on Monday asked physicians not to harass patients with unnecessary huge amount of tests as he addressed the 4th convocation of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in the capital city.

“Being eminent physicians, don’t harass patients with unnecessary big tests… ill and unfair competitions should be avoided,” he told the physicians at the convocation ceremony held at Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Convention Hall on BSMMU campus in the afternoon.

The Head of State also urged the physicians to behave responsibly, and with utmost sincerity and spirit of providing medical services to all properly.

The president, also chancellor of the university, directed the physicians and others concerned to take necessary measures to facilitate the service delivery system of BSMMU.

“BSMMU’s outdoor often receives complaints that the laboratory department is not opened in the morning. As a result, patients are being harassed while collecting reports frequently,” he said quoting reports.

Referring to BSMMU as a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in terms of capacities, the president said, people have high expectations from this institution. “There is no room for negligence, irresponsibility and administrative weakness in this university named after Bangladesh’s founding father Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

President Hamid urged the physicians to come forward with administrative initiatives to stop all kinds of signboard-related and building-dependent frauds in the name of providing medical care.

He said every one of the medical profession should be aware of the reputation of the entire medical community so that a few dishonest and fraudulent physicians cannot tarnish the image.

“It is often seen in the newspapers that hospital and clinics have grown up like mushroom . . . and are doing business by making patients hostages. Many times the patients, especially those from the villages, are subjected to extreme harassment falling in the clutches of brokers,” the president mentioned.

“Humanity is a divine virtue . . . Sick people rely on a physician and a nurse after the creator. Your good behaviour and treatment is crucial for any patient,” he added.

Abdul Hamid, also the chancellor of the university, asked the authorities concerned to think about introducing using generic names instead of trade names of medicines in Bangladesh like abroad.

President Hamid put emphasis on research activities in medical services and said the pattern and incidence of diseases are changing frequently due to various natural and man-made reasons.

“There is no substitute for advanced research in the field of medicine to identify the causes, prevention and cures of various diseases to combat future threats to mankind,” Hamid noted.

The BSMMU chancellor said Institutional Review Board (IRB) has been formed here with the aim of raising medical research to international standards and research activities are being conducted jointly with various organisations of the country and abroad as well.

The president said the type of disease in Bangladesh is different from developed and western countries and for this reason, own research work is needed for inventing effective and affordable treatment methods for diverse diseases here.

Indian University Service Commission chairman professor Raj-Bardhan Azad spoke as the convocation speaker in this fourth convocation of the university.

Abdul Hamid welcomed him to the campus and said that his presence as the keynote speaker at the BSMMU will guide the graduates to provide better services to the people of the country.

About the private hospitals and clinics, the president said hospitals and clinics in the private sector must be of good standard, where all necessary medical facilities would be available.

Referring to the nurses, the President said a patient in the hospital gets round-the-clock care and support from the nurses and a nurse’s pleasant manners and encouraging words make a patient’s hospital stay comfortable and speed up recovery.

He urged the nurses to be more sincere in patient service while at the same time it is necessary to improve the work environment for the nurses, provide better training and give them proper social status.

Noting that despite the presence of many renowned physicians and medical institutions in the country, about 2.5 million Bangladeshis go abroad for treatment every year, the president said, “We have to think where the real problem is . . . A physicians must first be a good listener to gain the trust of the patient.”

President Hamid said patients and their relatives should also remember that physicians are not God and they are human beings.

“They can only provide medical services. Therefore, it is not desirable to blame physicians and vandalise hospitals if anything happens to patients. Therefore, physicians, patients and relatives should be more responsible. None wants a situation where common people and patients are subjected to unbearable sufferings,” added Abdul Hamid.

BSMMU will play an important role in the growth and development of medical science in this country and will contribute to building a developed, prosperous, smart Bangladesh, envisioned by Bangabandhu, hoped the president.

Health and family welfare minister Zahid Malek, MP, vice chancellor of BSMMU Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed, pro-vice chancellor (education) professor Mosharraf Hossain, pro-vice chancellor (administration) professor Sharfuddin Ahmed, and pro-vice chancellor (research and development) professor Md Moniruzzaman Khan, treasurer professor Mohammad Atiqur Rahman and proctor professor Md. Habibur Rahman Dulal were also present there.

At the fourth convocation, 35 people were awarded the “Chancellor’s Gold Medal” while three were awarded honorary (PhD) degrees.