PM Orders Steps to Strengthen Healthcare Services for Marginalised Communities

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday directed the authorities concerned to take immediate steps to make healthcare services more accessible and effective for marginalised communities across the country.

He also called on doctors to demonstrate greater sincerity, dedication and accountability in treating patients.

The directives were issued during a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday afternoon. It was the first time the prime minister personally chaired a meeting at the ministry’s auditorium.

At the outset, Tarique Rahman asked the health minister, state minister, secretary and senior officials to brief him on the health sector’s achievements during the five months since the current government took office.

Officials outlined the sector’s progress, saying previous governments had brought the country’s healthcare system to a critical point, making quality treatment increasingly difficult to access for people living in remote and marginalised areas. They said the current government was working continuously to improve the situation.

Addressing reports and complaints in the media and on social media that patients often fail to receive satisfactory treatment at upazila-level hospitals despite the presence of doctors, the prime minister ordered action against negligent physicians, including disciplinary measures where necessary.

He stressed that healthcare must be made more accessible to rural communities, with quality treatment and adequate supplies of medicines ensured.

The prime minister further said people should be able to access treatment at government hospitals without unnecessary difficulties, adding that public hospitals must become the primary and most dependable destination for healthcare.

Expressing particular concern over the difficulties faced by kidney patients, Tarique Rahman announced plans to establish 50-bed dialysis centres at the district level.

He said existing 10-bed dialysis centres at district hospitals would be expanded to 50 beds, while dialysis facilities would gradually be established at upazila level nationwide over the next three years. He also instructed the authorities to develop the necessary skilled workforce and ensure adequate logistical support for the programme.

The meeting also reviewed plans to expand upazila health complexes from 51 beds to 101 beds. Detailed discussions focused on the manpower and infrastructure required for the expansion, while engineers from the Public Works Department presented designs and other technical details.

The meeting was attended by the health minister, state minister, senior ministry officials, and directors and senior officials from Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh Medical University and several other hospitals in the capital.