5,000 illegal hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres in country
The government has intensified a coordinated nationwide operation to eliminate long-standing irregularities in the country’s healthcare sector, restore discipline, build public trust, and ensure safe medical care.
This operation, extending from the capital Dhaka to district and upazila levels, aims primarily to ensure legal accountability for illegal, unapproved, and substandard hospitals, clinics, blood banks, and diagnostic centers.
Amid long-standing allegations of unlicensed operations and excessive fee collection under the guise of healthcare, strict administrative and legal action has already been intensified at the field level.
According to data from the Directorate General of Health Services, nearly 5,000 hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, and blood banks have so far been monitored and inspected as part of this cleanup campaign in the health sector.
Over the past five months, the Health Department has sealed off and declared closed more than 250 illegal healthcare facilities nationwide, of which 25 facilities were shut down in the capital Dhaka alone.
In addition, four private hospitals and one diagnostic center in Faridpur, six unapproved clinics in Tangail, two clinics in Shariatpur, two in Narsingdi, two clinics in Pabna, two diagnostic centers in Manikganj, one clinic in Harinakunda, Jhenaidah, and one in Godagari, Rajshahi – altogether more than 200 illegal diagnostic centers, clinics, and blood banks have been shut down across various districts and upazilas of the country.
The monitoring process has revealed serious administrative and procedural flaws at these institutions. According to a 2024 report by the Health Department, more than 5,000 hospitals and diagnostic centers are operating illegally nationwide.
Divisional data on the previously identified 1,285 unapproved establishments show that Dhaka Division had the highest number of illegal establishments, at 415, followed by 252 in Mymensingh, 240 in Chattogram, 156 in Khulna, 111 in Rangpur, 55 in Rajshahi, 48 in Barisal, and 8 in Sylhet.
To shut down illegal healthcare facilities, the Health Department began conducting regular operations from 29 March this year. Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain himself was present at several of these operations.
The impact of this field-level administrative operation has even exposed documentation-related inconsistencies and procedural errors at well-known and large institutions. As part of the operation, discrepancies related to license renewal and administrative approval were recently uncovered at several institutions, including the well-known Ad-din Medical College Hospital in Moghbazar, in the capital.
As a result, certain outpatient services and license-related matters at the institution were immediately tightened, alongside temporary monitoring and action. Subsequently, after the institution’s authorities submitted all required documents, paid outstanding fees, and made a written application for swift correction of the deficiencies, the Directorate General of Health Services formally allowed them to continue operations in accordance with regulations.
This incident demonstrates that not only small establishments, but even large and established healthcare centers, have significant shortcomings in license renewal and compliance with government regulations.
At the field level, the main causes of substandard hospitals and clinics and patient dissatisfaction have become malpractice and uncontrolled fee collection.
Many clinics lack round-the-clock certified doctors or trained, experienced nurses. Life-saving medical procedures and sensitive tasks such as preparing lab reports are being carried out by ward boys and technicians, constantly putting patients’ lives at serious risk.
Beyond this, a culture has developed in labs and diagnostic centers of charging large sums for unnecessary tests, and of extracting excessive bills by holding patients hostage under the guise of ICU or life-support services – turning into severe financial and psychological distress for ordinary patients.
Amid this situation, the benefits of the health sector’s administrative activity and stricter enforcement are also becoming visible. Among the institutions inspected so far, nearly 200 clinics and diagnostic centers have been given a specific deadline to correct their infrastructural flaws and improve the quality of medical care.
At the same time, fearing government monitoring and fines, nearly 6,000 institutions have already renewed their pending licenses on their own initiative.
Currently, applications from another 2,000 to 3,000 institutions have been submitted to the district and central health directorates, and the process of granting approval after proper quality verification is underway. Alongside this, efforts to identify fake doctors, fake nurses, and unapproved medical technicians and take legal action, including imprisonment, against them are ongoing.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain has delivered a clear, strict message regarding this ongoing cleanup operation and the overall quality of healthcare services.
Present in person during the operations, the minister warned that any hospital or clinic in any part of the country failing to maintain minimum healthcare standards would be immediately sealed off without exception.
No political or administrative compromise will be made regarding the protection of people’s lives and health. The government is determined to build a safe healthcare infrastructure by extending this monitoring operation beyond Dhaka to the remotest rural areas.
Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services, Professor Dr. Provat Chandra Biswas, said that conducting operations nationwide will eliminate irregularities at various hospitals and restore transparency in the health sector. As part of the operation, license verification, quality testing of medical equipment, compliance with health regulations, and verification of doctors’ valid certifications are being carried out.
Dr. Md. Nurul Islam, Director of the Hospital and Clinic Wing of the Directorate General of Health Services, said that operations have already been conducted against nearly 5,000 illegal and substandard hospitals, clinics, blood banks, and diagnostic centers nationwide. More than 250 illegal clinics have been shut down, and 200 clinics have been given time to make corrections.
Meanwhile, prominent public health experts and healthcare sector analysts in the country have emphasized the need to establish permanent discipline in the health sector.
Regarding this, Dr. Atiar Rahman, Chairman of the Pediatrics Department at PG Hospital, said that this sector’s “cutthroat” business practices cannot be stopped in the long term through sudden raids or clinic seals alone.
For a permanent solution, the government’s health department must quickly create a central digital database, where each institution’s updated license, infrastructure, round-the-clock presence of doctors, and lab fees would be open for the public to view.
On this matter, Professor Lt. Col. Dr. Jobaida Khatun Jesmin of CMH Hospital said that alongside ensuring public health, the fees for tests at private clinics should be fixed, and regular strict surprise visits should be conducted, so that fraudulent institutions do not get the opportunity to change their names and start new deceptive, cutthroat businesses again.
