DHAKA: Experts Saturday suggested forming an independent regularity body and appointing an ombudsman for curbing irregularities in the country’s ill-managed health sector.

As rules and regulations are being hardly maintained in the sector in the absence of proper management and surveillance bodies, effective healthcare delivery and the growth of the sector are yet to be ensured, they said at a roundtable in the city.

Daily Bhorer kagoj and Bangladesh Health Watch (BHW) organised the discussion titled `How Healthy is Health Sector Governance?’ in the Bengali daily’s conference room.
Dr. Abu Jamil Faisal presented the keynote.

Dr. Nazmul Hassan, a researcher, said there is no coordination among Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC), Bangladesh Nursing Council (BNC), Parliamentary Standing Committee and Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) and others concerned.  

Dr. AKM Mahbubur Rahman, line director of Clinical Contraception Services Delivery Program, said, “The BMDC only registers doctors without considering their quality.”

He also blamed some professors for allocating their time for their private clinics, not for students.

Dr. Sayedur Rahman, Associate Professor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), said the country has no institution for testing the quality of medicines.

He pointed out that about a lakh drugstores across the country have no license and many salesmen are not educated either.

Moderated by Shyamal Dutta, editor of Bhorer Kagoj, the discussion was also addressed by Dr. Zahidur Rahman, deputy secretary of the state medical faculty of Bangladesh, Dr. Khairul Islam, country representative of Water Aid Bangladesh, and Suriya Begum, registrar of Bangladesh Nursing Council.

BDST: 1515 HRS, June 19, 2010
RT/SMS/MUA