By introducing the system of gate passes for the patients' attendants at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) recently, the authorities concerned have done a commendable job. So long the system remains in place, the patients in general are expected to find their hospital stays free of a host of hazards. So are the on-duty doctors, nurses and other staff. They have faced great impediments to their routine jobs for reasons of ubiquitous presence of outsiders, in the guise of attendants.
After the introduction of the gate pass system, the hospital is now free of the hassles created by outsiders. The compulsory pass system, two for each patient will, hopefully, usher in a patient-physician friendly environment in the largest government hospital in the port city. Pilferage of the patients' valuables and other objects, forcing their real attendants to do various tests and diagnoses at private clinics, and purchase medicines of particular brands from particular pharmacies are common allegations in all big public hospitals here. Like the district-based public hospitals, the CMCH had lately become a haven of brokers and agents of phony clinics and drug companies as also professional thieves. With the introduction of the gate passes at CMCH issued by the hospital on recommendation of the patients against a refundable charge of Taka 50 each, the chaotic environment was expected to be over. So it has, and quite impressively at that.
With the CMCH now offering a changed look, the situation at the country's other large public hospitals deserves focus. These include Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases. When it comes to the entry of outsiders in a hospital at will, many passing their night there, a common picture emerges. These disturbances and work obstructions are similar. At the DMCH, agents of private pathological centres, blood banks along with different types of brokers enjoy a dominant presence. Moreover, the stealing of newborns has long brought the question of security at the hospital into question. Pilferage of the unattended patients' money and valuables remains a nagging worry. That elements posing as patients' visitors and attendants can get away with their missions largely because of their collusion with a section of unscrupulous hospital staff is no secret. Unfortunately, few effective initiatives have been taken by the authorities concerned to bring the unwieldy situation under control. Incidents of physically assaulting doctors and resorting to bouts of violence on pretexts of wrong treatment are normal at these hospitals.
Few people seem to be aware of the fact that the provision of entry passes for visitors is among the rules of all hospitals. But it exists in paper only. Following the CMCH's successful introduction of it, hospitals struggling with the unwanted visitors' scourge ought to bring it into effect without delay. Free treatment should, in no way, facilitate entry of dubious people. Hospital authorities and patients are equally eager to see the gate pass system in place.
