Though the health department’s last continuous drive against private illegal clinics and diagnostics centers, twelve clinics have been shut down due to illegality and faulty organogram. Almost one hundred unlicensed and unruly clinics and diagnostics centers have been operating in the city and rural area in the district.
Narayanganj clinics and diagnostics owner association’s general secretary Shaheen Mozumdar as well as owner of Shaheen General Hospital said that it is a matter of shame to see a ward boy of a clinic now owner of a clinic. He raised a question about how the ward boy got licensed so easily. He also said that it seemed to me the number of clinics and diagnostics centers are higher than grocery shops.
The director general office of health earlier made a direction to the all district level administration including civil surgeons to close the illegal private clinics, diagnostics centers, blood banks within 72 hours that had already been passed.
Responding in a query, district civil surgeon Dr AFM Moshiur Rahman said that the twelve private illegal clinics have been closed and issued notice against another thirteen private clinics and submitted the notice copy to the district administration to take legal initiatives. The drive against illegal private clinics would be continued, he added.
Sonargaon upazila health and family planning officer Dr Sabrin Haq sealed six clinics and diagnostics center. The sealed clinics are Green Life Hospital, Multi Care, Islami Diagnostics Center, Al Safa, Al Taha and Modern clinic. The clinics and diagnostics center were sealed due to unavailable the requirement licensed and other documents and also were not found by the on duty physicians and nurses, Dr Sabrina Haq claimed.
The health department ran the drive assisted by district administration and police.
According to the civil surgeon there are 96 clinics, 56 diagnostics centers and 4 blood banks that are licensed and operated in the district.
However, a clinic owner Siddikur Rahman Mia told the Bangladesh Post there are at least 150 clinics operating in all five upazila areas in the district. Even though all licensed clinics are not abiding the clinics operating rules.
According to the guidelines of the clinics most of the licensed clinics operating ignored the rules. An official of the civil surgeon office said that if the clinic has 10 beds, they require 8 hourly on duty one doctor, 2 nurses and a cleaner. Like this, the 20 bed clinic and 40 bed clinics have to be multiplied in ratio than 10 bed clinics. The officials also added that a clinic licensed aspirant had to take the seven clearance certificate from the concerned authority before getting licensed.
Though the civil surgeon said that he had forced shut down 13 clinics in Sonargaon, Bandar and Sadar upazila but a manager of a clinic in Sonargaon upazila said that on May 27 civil surgeon gave notice to three clinics named Medicare, Matriseba and Royel Clinic.
Moving to the different clinics in the rural and city areas and adjacent areas it is found that those the clinics have been operating with proper licenses are also faulty in accordance with the license issuing guidelines. A clinic under Sadar upazila at Bholail area named Friendship clinic found 4 female patients who gave birth to babies but no physician on duty there. Only an unskilled nurse was on duty.