Agents, popularly known as Dalal, of doctors and private hospitals are now very active at Laksmipur and Ghosepara areas in Rajshahi city.
Several hundred agents are seen every day to wait in front of the emergency gate, entrance gate and at road crossings of Laxmipur and Ghosepara areas adjacent to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) and in front of some other government run hospitals.
They mainly target the poor, ignorant villagers. They lured those poor villagers to treat their patients with high profile, renowned doctors at the best clinic and give misleading information. By providing them information of specialist physicians and surgeons, they manage to admit poor, ignorant patients for the clinics having no proper facilities for treatment, having no specialist physician or surgeon practicing there.
Some doctors and clinics appoint the agents for collecting patients for them.
It was alleged that the patients that no good treatment is given at RMCH and renowned doctors of the hospital will privately diagnose and prescribe the patients at the private clinics. Being lured by lucrative offer of those agents, many patients are admitted to those little known clinics and used to pay a high doctor fees and an exorbitant clinic charge.
Sometimes the agents inform the patient’s relative that the doctor is not in Rajshahi, if they wish, he will take them to a better doctor. Sometimes they say if the patient wants, they can arrange a meeting with any departmental head of RMCH and also mislead the patient by saying the doctors on duty at the government hospitals were only intern and they do not have any higher degrees to treat patients with any complicated disease there.
Sources said, a woman agent sits in front of a doctor of the department of Medicine of RMCH, the woman inform every patient that the doctor is busy and they can see him at his private chamber. There are many such incidents of agents of doctors advising their patients to visit to the private chambers of those doctors at the clinic.
Many agents are also seen moving every wards of the hospital in guise of patients or their attendants and seen to convince the patient's relatives that the hospital was not suitable enough for treatment and that they have personal relation with renowned doctors and know whereabouts of nice clinics and, if they want good treatment of their patients, they should be admitted to those clinics.
Director of RMCH said that a strong committee has been formed to eradicate the illegal agents who try to capture the poor patients and divert them to private clinics and unskilled doctors.
Hospital sources sad, once upon a time, agents for capturing patients were very active at the RMCH. But, now patients and their attendants are very aware. As a result, there was no menace of agents at the h