They also called for incorporating more practical-oriented lessons and behavioural sciences into the curriculum of medical institutions in order to improve professionals' expertise and strengthen commitment to patients.

Health 21, a platform for medical professionals and civil society members, Public Health Department of North South University (NSU), Marie Stopes and The Daily Star jointly organised the roundtable on 'Doctors' Rights and Patients' Rights' at the National Press Club in the city.

Gonoshasthya Kendra Chairman Dr Zafarullah Chowdhury said medical professionals should change their attitude towards patients. "The education of doctors is funded by public money, but they do not know how to communicate with the people. This is unacceptable."

"An audit should be conducted to find out how many patients have died in public hospitals and what medicines have been prescribed for them," he added.

Dr Asif Nazrul, a professor of law at Dhaka University, said that although the constitution guarantees health rights for all, it does not allow the citizens to take the government to court in case of its failure.

So, a healthcare rights law should be formulated, he said, adding that this is very important because it involves life and death.

Advocate Morshed Alam of Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) said there are a total of 45 laws related to health issues.

Questioning the effectiveness of these laws, he said a single and comprehensive law should be framed to ensure the patients' as well as doctors' rights.

Associate Professor Saiful Islam of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University said there are many flaws in the medical education system in the country, resulting in shortage of skilled doctors.

"Gaining only biomedical knowledge is not enough for the students to become good doctors. The training that is needed for professional development is totally absent here," he said.

Dr Saiful, who moderated the roundtable, said improving doctor-patient relationship could solve many problems in the sector. "We should conduct a survey to assess whether the healthcare service providers are prioritising profit, rather than serving patients better in the capital-intensive ventures," he said.

He also said that the gap between the private and public healthcare services should be reduced.

Stressing the moral responsibility of medical professionals, Dr M Shahjahan said the delivery of healthcare is a teamwork process where patients suffer due to lack of coordination in the team. For example, he said, the ratio of nurses to doctors should be 3:1, whereas this ratio is 1:3 in the country.

Health 21 Chief Coordinator Dr GU Ahsan said that 95 percent of people are not aware of their health rights. On the other hand, doctors also do not play any role in raising awareness among patients in this regard, he added.

"The British curriculum that we follow still today has been changed 10 to 12 times in Britain, but it remains unchanged in Bangladesh," he said, adding that there is no provision for fostering commitment among students in the medical institutions here.

Northern University Vice-Chancellor Prof Shamsul Haque said the demand for healthcare services has increased significantly, but no qualitative development of infrastructure has taken place to that extent.

For example, each doctor examines 50 patients a day, whereas he/she is supposed to treat only 10 patients, he added.

"A law should be framed to stop private practice of doctors who are in the government service," medical researcher Dr Jiban Roy said.

In her keynote presentation, ASK Director Dr Faustina Pereira called for ensuring public healthcare facilities, including safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, hospitals and clinics, trained medical personnel and essential drugs.

"The facilities must be respectful of medical ethics and culturally appropriate," she noted. In case of any accident, doctors appear to be solely responsible for it, but the patients also have a duty to know the risks and benefits of the selected treatment and the alternative treatments, she added.

Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said there should not be any flaw in the healthcare system because a single error can cause the loss of life.

So, fulfilling professional responsibility is crucially important, he said, adding that medium- and long-term plans should be taken up immediately to develop the healthcare system.

Terming the present healthcare system chaotic, Health 21 Executive Director Dr Rubaiul Murshed said they would organise seven roundtables on different aspects of health system and compile the outcomes in a book for consideration by the government.

Samia Ahmed and Sardar Arifuddin of Actionaid Bangladesh, Kawsar Afsana of Brac and Dr Habibul Haque also spoke at the roundtable chaired by Health 21 Chairman Dr Shahjahan M Samad.