Health Minister Sakhawat Hossain made a surprise visit to the Mahespur upazila health complex in Jhenaidah. He pledged action against a contractor and ordered immediate steps to resolve the hospital’s staffing shortage.
Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain arrived at the upazila health complex Sunday morning for an unannounced inspection. He visited patient wards and spoke with patients, then toured the medicine store, stock register, operating theater, and various office rooms. He expressed satisfaction with the health complex’s current management and cleanliness, and held a discussion with doctors and staff in the hospital’s office room.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Nelena Akter Nipa informed the health minister of shortages of doctors, nurses, and cleaning staff at the hospital. He immediately called the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services and ordered action. After learning that a contractor named Monirul had demanded a bribe of 120,000 taka from outsourced staff working at the health complex, the minister immediately instructed them not to pay and pledged action against the contractor.
Responding to a question from journalists, he also pledged that outsourced staff who have not yet received their pay would be paid, and that the hospital’s problems would be resolved quickly. Asked about the closure of the Bhairaba hospital in Mahespur, he said the government has various plans in place, including launching a health center in every union.
He also said 10 to 12 specialized hospitals with 2,000 to 2,500 beds would be built nationwide, two of which would be for women. Asked why the surprise inspection was being conducted, he said many hospitals have absent doctors, patients are forced to buy medicine from outside despite government supplies being available, and hospital environments remain unclean. He said these surprise inspections are aimed at curbing such problems.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report