Tk 16,000 crore tender to address hospital shortages

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain Bakul has said tenders worth Tk 16,000 crore will be issued within the next 15 to 20 days to address doctor shortages and improve equipment and infrastructure at district and upazila hospitals across the country.

He also said all community clinics would be renamed Family Welfare Centres.

The minister made the remarks during a surprise visit to Mymensingh on Saturday. He said the government would gradually address the problems in the health sector, alleging widespread looting during the previous 17 years of the “fascist government”.

He also said intensive care services for children, which had been suspended due to staff shortages, would resume within a week.

During the visit, the minister first inspected the Tarakanda and Phulpur Upazila Health Complexes before arriving at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital around noon.

He visited the outpatient department and several wards before entering the director's office. After finding several doctors marked absent in the attendance register, he took the register with him.

The minister also enquired about the treatment of patients in the gynaecology, dengue and measles isolation wards, among others.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the toilets used by patients during his inspection.

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