Public healthcare must be ensured despite constraints: Fakhrul

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday said public healthcare services must be ensured despite existing resource constraints.
He made the remarks while speaking to reporters after inspecting the 250-bed General Hospital in Thakurgaon.
Referring to overall health services at Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital and across the district, the minister said the existing 250-bed general hospital would be expanded to a 500-bed facility to better serve the local population.
Fakhrul, also the secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said the hospital appeared clean and well maintained, but stressed that its management system must be further strengthened to ensure improved service delivery.
During the visit, he asked Hospital Superintendent Dr Firoz Jewel to submit a detailed list of requirements to ensure maximum healthcare services for the people, assuring him of full support.
He said necessary steps would be taken once the hospital authorities provide a list of needs, including improvements in cleanliness, 
medical equipment and overall service standards. The minister also said that a medical college would be established in Thakurgaon soon, expressing optimism that the district’s health sector would witness substantial improvement following its establishment.
Responding to a question regarding restrictions on doctors serving more than three years at the same workplace, the minister said the matter was under review. “It has only been 10 to 12 days since we assumed responsibility. Gradually, everything will be brought under proper regulations,” he said.