Afternoon chamber in government hospital

Majhar Mannan :
From March 1, doctors in government hospitals will be able to see patients in their chambers in the afternoon and the fee has been fixed at tk. 300. This will be considered a very good initiative as there is no end to people’s complaints about the medical services in Bangladesh for a long time.
As a result of this initiative, poor and ordinary patients will get medical treatment at low cost and they will be able to lead a better life with good treatment. It is not possible for many patients to go to the doctor’s chambers and consult with him paying fees 800 -1000 taka. According to a recent newspaper report, the government wants to fix the fees of doctors. The government will decide how much the private doctors will charge to provide services to the patients.
It is learned that a meeting has been held in this regard at the Department of Health. However, no final decision has been made yet. However, the doctors have expressed their dissatisfaction in this regard. How much a doctor will charge a patient for the service is entirely up to him. They further cited the example that no country in the world has set a fee for doctors. In England, the government has said doctors will set fees. They also say that no fee has been fixed for doctors in neighboring India. Citing the example of Malaysia, they said that such an initiative had been taken in this country once but it could not be implemented. They think that the government can fix the fees of some services in private hospitals, nothing more than that. However, some reputed doctors of the country see patients in the chamber taking small fee and provide medical services. But most physicians take high fees which is really difficult for the poor and common people.
Physicians take fees according to their wishes which can be burden for patients. Moreover the fees of doctors vary from 300 to 2000 taka. In this case, if there is a transparent policy, then the patients will have a clear idea about the doctor. This will help the patient to prepare financially and mentally. For more clarity, the receipt can be given to the patient. Physicians do not want to be in any rules and regulations at the time of seeing patients in the chamber and determining fees.
There are also allegations that some doctors do not give patients time and do misbehave with patients even after taking high fees. Doctors often say that they practice privately in the chamber and here they do not force any patient to come, so they are free to determine fees. But even this argument of theirs cannot be accepted because their profession is different from other professions. Every human being gets sick at any stage of his life and has to seek medical help.
Bangladesh is a developing country and it has huge population and most of them live in remote areas. The allegation that doctors do not want to stay in the village is very old. The responsibility of a physician can not be limited to only his medical field but he has also the responsibility to the society. With the number of doctors in the country, it is very tough to provide medical services to 170 million people. According to the study of a British Journal, the time spent by Bangladeshi doctors in treating patients is less than one minute. There is one doctor for every 15000 people in the village and one for every 500 people in the city. According to International Standards, there should be one doctor for every 1000 people. In this case, the condition of the village is very faint. According to ICDDRB, 85 percent of people resort to quack doctors and 15 percent of people seek treatment from MBBS doctors. Many people in the village die every year due to the malpractice, kabiraji treatment and treatment of quack doctors.
Questions may arise in the minds of the people about the teachings of patriotism and humanism of the doctors. For a number of reasons doctors are becoming city-centric today. 1. Having the opportunity to make extra money. 2. Having the advantage of private practice. 3. Self-centered mentality and forgetting the ethical values of the medical profession.
The profession of physicians is different from other professions. It is the moral responsibility of doctors to provide healthcare to the people and at the same time government should provide facilities for doctors. A large part of the country is being deprived of modern treatment just because of the mentality of doctors. The country’s pharmaceutical sector has reached a unique height today. 98 percent of the medicines are being produced in the country. Now it is urgent to change the mentality of the some doctors. It our expectation that doctor’s behaviour with the patients should be good.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, B A F Shaheen College Kurmitola,
Dhaka Cantonment).