Take legal action to stop harassment of patients

The harassment of patients suffering from any disease is increasing day by day amid the coronavirus outbreak. The medical care received by people, especially the poor, has worsened. Finding a physician and proper treatment in the country is very difficult nowadays.

Lockdown has been lifted. So, patients have started going out to consult physicians. However, getting treatment still remains an ordeal, as people have to go to hospital to hospital and yet they on many occasions do not get treatment. Many such incidents are coming to the fore via social media.

Many people from various strata of the society, who are not COVID-19 patients, are allegedly dying for lack of proper treatment. Such incidents manifest the incompetence and irregularities of the hospital management. The work order for import of ventilators was allegedly delayed even on the 12th week of pandemic. This is a matter of concern. Apparently, people in crucial posts in the health sector are opening up over irregularities.

The effectiveness of the government decision regarding hospitals too have been questioned. Because, all the hospitals, government and private, have been asked to categorise as either dedicated or non-dedicated for COVID-19. The government is optimistic that this will ensure treatment for COVID-19 patients at private hospitals, but the actual scenario is different. The private hospitals and clinics are slack over the implementation of the decision. The government hospitals too are following the suit.

According to the Disaster Management Act, the government can acquire any establishment including private hospitals, but the government policymakers are negligent over the proper implement of this act. Funding crises regarding hospital management are being revealed too. Chittagong Medical College Hospital authorities recently said they were unable to provide PPE. The issue was included in a government order.

On the onset of the virus outbreak, the death of a promising physician stirred the country. He died due to the lack of ICU privilege in Sylhet. At that time, 100-bed Shaheed Shamsuddin Medical College was transformed into a COVID-19 hospital. Much more discussions were done in the following weeks, but hospitals did not increase. Sylhet is facing a rapid growth of COVID-19 patients. The 100-bed hospital can no longer afford patients, but the administration still could not launch any COVID-19 branch at any private hospital. Finally, negotiations are underway regarding the acquisition of 600-bed North East Hospital.

Regarding the patients’ harassment, a health ministry representative said no hospital can deny treatment to any patient whether he is coronavirus infected or not, but the private hospitals will charge as per their own policy which the patient is bound to pay.

Rate of medical cost should be fixed in the country. The concerned ones should be reminded the fact that it was punishable to deny treatment to any patient. The representative said steps would be taken regarding the matter, but when? There is no alternative to strict implementation of law to end the uncertainty.