Bangladesh: A death, its cause and govt failures in healthcare delivery
A TEENAGED boy having died at Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital after a ward boy, declined a tip that he demanded from the patient’s family, removed the oxygen mask on Tuesday comes as shocking. It also betrays the malpractices that public hospitals are mired in. The boy was admitted to the hospital after he had become injured in a road accident. The ward boy, a part-time staff, took the injured to the emergency ward, and then to the surgery ward, and demanded Tk 200 in tip from the family. The ward boy, given Tk 150 in tip, removed the oxygen mask which caused the death. An investigation has been set about and the accused is reportedly on the run. Such an incident could have been ‘unfortunate’, as hospital authorities say, had it been an isolated incident; but the incident at hand is indicative of a far deeper problem causing a poor environment of the delivery of services in public hospitals.
The incident at hand, a crime born out of a malpractice, is unpalatable and such harassment of service seekers, not causing death always though, has become typical of most public hospitals where patients and their family face many hurdles to get services. Studies on the accessibility to healthcare services in public hospitals show that patients face difficulties and harassment at almost every stage, from admission to discharge. The presence of brokers and unruly and corrupt staff, who hackle patients for money, is the tip of the iceberg of mismanagement in public hospitals. A number of reports also find that an unholy connection between brokers and errant staff has contributed to a culture of harassment and exploitation of service-seekers. Degradation in ethics and an absence of adequately punitive action against errant staff and outsiders are believed to have led to such a decline in the delivery of healthcare services in public hospitals.
The death of the teenage boy speaks volumes of the systemic, and perhaps systematic, corruption and harassment in public hospitals and the eventual erosion of people’s rights to legitimate services. While the authorities concerned must investigate the death and hold the accused to justice, the government has a number of issues to shore up to make public agencies, especially the ones that deliver services, discharge their duties properly and professionally. A regular training in work ethics, oversight and stringent punitive action against any misconduct are a must to discipline the sector.
Courtesy New Age
