Infrastructure improved, services poor in health sector: Experts

Reza Mahmud :
Infrastructures of the country’s health sector have improved in the last several decades but services are still poor, experts said.
Public health experts said that health complex buildings and logistics including medical instruments and equipment have been sufficient in the country, but the patients’ experience of getting services is unpleasant.
As per patients’ experiences, behaviours of physicians and medical staffs are not well which made the health services poor.
The public health experts stressed on giving necessary training to the manpower of health sectors so that they behave well with the patients and give proper medical treatments and related supports.
When contacted, Public health expert Professor Dr Benazir Ahmed told The New Nation on Monday, “If you get a computer with shining hard disc but its software is not good it will not give good outputs.”
“Similarly, the good buildings and equipment of the health sector failed to render sufficient services to the patients of the country,” the health expert said.
He said that there are number of achievements in the health sector including eliminating of Malaria and Dumdum fever or Black fever.
The country has also attained a exemplary success in controlling many diseases with different campaigning like EPI.
Target and promises have played an important role behind those achievements, the expert said.
He said that the health authorities have to fix a target that which services are major to render among the common people.
They have to conduct a provisionary survey and stipulate adequate  
strategies to give the patients necessary health services right now, he added.
When contacted, Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq told The New Nation, “Most people are complaining about medical services provided by the government health facilities while unsatisfied with the health manpower.”
He, however, said that most of the development is found in city areas but the rural area’s infrastructures are still undeveloped.
The Professor said, “The infrastructures of health sector in cities have been improved with construction of new hospitals. But if we look at Upazila health complexes, the situations have not improved as needed.”
The Upazila hospitals need to be further strengthened with infrastructure as well as equipments and facilities, the Professor said.
“We are to keep in mind about 65pc of our population live in rural settings,” he said.
The expert said that all preventive and primary care facilities need to be made as a priority. Basic investigation facilities need to be available in all Upazila hospitals while those need to be in functional stages with necessary repair and maintenance. Necessary manpower have to be available too.
“We should be kept in mind if we can keep the Upazila hospitals functional these will help minimise the load to tertiary hospitals,” the Professor said.