Our health ministry so helpless?
The health minister, in a rather helpless move, has called upon members of parliament for suggestions on how to keep reluctant doctors serving in villages. Despite development of infrastructure in the form of health complexes and community clinics, medical service remains wanting in rural areas, with, reportedly, 5,731 doctors' posts vacant across the country.
While the minister's appeal is a frank call for help, it raises questions about his ministry's efficiency in this particular area. According to him, despite punitive measures having been taken against errant doctors, they continue to forego their duties, remaining absent from their posts and getting transfers as early as a day after being posted to a station.
Some parliamentarians' suggestions that doctors be required to obtain recommendations from local MPs before being transferred are not quite the solution either. The concerned ministry itself should have a system by which it can ensure the presence and performance of its members and officers.
Countries with some of the world's best health care systems, such as Cuba, make it mandatory for doctors to serve in rural areas for a stipulated time, such as for two years, after graduating from the country's medical schools. Considering the subsidised medical education in Bangladesh, not to mention the shortage of doctors and lack of proper medical facilities in rural areas, we would do well to implement such rules in our own country if they do not already exist. Our young generation of professionals owe their service to their country, and if it cannot be ensured through their own sense of responsibility, then they must be compelled to fulfil their duties towards their profession and to their country. While urging the government to take measures in this regard, we would also like to remind doctors across the country about the Hippocratic Oaththe promise to serve humanitythat they took at the onset of their medical careers.
Comments