No licence for clinics near govt hospitals

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain has said no new private clinics or diagnostic centres will be approved in the vicinity of government hospitals.

He said the activities of currently approved facilities would also be monitored regularly, and their licences would be cancelled if they fail to provide quality services.

The minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists after inspecting Gazaria Upazila Health Complex in Munshiganj on Tuesday. Munshiganj-3 MP Kamruzzaman Ratan was present at the time.

Speaking about improving healthcare services, Sakhawat Hossain said the government has taken an initiative to upgrade upazila-level hospitals to 151 beds. Work is also underway to establish primary healthcare centres at the union level and health and wellbeing hubs at the ward level.

He stressed the need to strengthen cleanliness drives and raise public awareness to prevent dengue and measles. He also instructed the relevant authorities to make the necessary preparations for the nationwide Intensified MR Catch-up Vaccination Programme, scheduled to run from September 26 to October 31.

Asked why patients still die from snakebites despite adequate supplies of antivenom at upazila-level hospitals, the minister said patients are kept under observation for some time after snakebite to determine whether they have been bitten by a venomous snake.