Gonoshasthaya Kendra: DGHS official making threats over running of laboratory

An official of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has threatened Gonoshasthaya Kendra saying mobile courts would be operated against the Covid-19 lab to shut it down.

Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury made this allegation in a letter sent to the director general of DGHS Prof ABM Khurshid Alam on Monday.

Earlier on the same day, Dr Farid Hossain Mian, DGHS director (hospitals and clinics), called Gonoshasthaya Kendra Director Dr Badrul Haque over phone and asked him to shut the lab as "the lab has no authorisation".

On August 29, Gonoshasthaya Kendra also launched the rt-PCR based Covid-19 laboratory at the hospital.

"The statement of the director of hospital [and clinics] is against public interest and injudicious. His statement is against the spirit of liberation war," Dr Zafrullah said.

He also mentioned that they sent two letters to the DGHS via email -- the first one on August 12 and the second one on August 31.

"We did not get any reply," Dr Zafrullah said in the letter.

Dr Farid Hossain Mian, however, dismissed this claim.

"We have received an email regarding their hospital license. There was nothing realted to Covid-19 laboratory in that letter. Later [on Monday], I received an invitation letter to visit their [Gonoshasthaya Kendra] Covid-19 lab. We have not received any application regarding Covid-19 lab at all," Dr Farid Hossain Mian told The Daily Star yesterday.

About his warning to run a mobile court, he said, "None of the Covid-19 laboratories could start testing without our permission. They would not too. So I have told them to run a mobile court as per the law."

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury said, "Will now the mobile court come and shut down Gonoshasthaya Kendra? What would be the result? Hundreds of thousands of people will be deprived of treatment. If the government thinks that would be better, they will do."

"We, however, are not going to shut down the lab… We sent a letter to the DG of the health directorate again yesterday. We hope they will authorise our lab soon," he added.

On August 15, Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital authorities launched the "Gonoshasthaya Plasma Center" in commemoration of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujubur Rahman.