Unused medical equipment to be sold as scrap: Health Minister

Criticising unnecessary procurement, corruption and wastage of public funds in the health sector, Health Minister Sardar Sakhawat Hossain Bokul has said that much of the medical equipment purchased without proper planning now has no other fate than being sold as scrap.

The minister made the remarks at the release of a study titled "Addressing the Gaps in Bangladesh's Public Health System: A Rapid Institution-Based Assessment of Cost Efficiency to Ensure Quality Services for Universal Healthcare" at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital on Wednesday (July 29).

He said that during the Awami League government's tenure, radiotherapy machines worth Tk 11 crore were purchased for Tk 18 crore. However, the necessary infrastructure was not even ready at the sites where they were installed. He claimed such purchases were made because each machine offered a profit margin of Tk 4-6 crore. Currently, one machine lies idle in Faridpur and another in Khulna.

He further said X-ray and other medical equipment were purchased in various parts of the country without the required manpower. As these machines remain unused, they will ultimately have to be sold as scrap.

Criticising the culture of commission-based referrals to private clinics by government hospital doctors, the minister said referring patients to nearby clinics while on government duty, conducting tests or surgeries in exchange for commissions would not be tolerated. He vowed to strictly monitor such irregularities.

The health minister also made a significant announcement regarding dialysis services. He said a foreign company has been controlling the dialysis service market in Dhaka and Chattogram for a long time. When their contract expires in November, it will not be renewed. The government will purchase dialysis machines and operate services under its own management, which will save foreign currency and allow patients to receive treatment at a lower cost.

He also spoke of new initiatives to bring healthcare to people's doorsteps. Within the next three months, health workers in 10 upazilas and 90 wards will be given bicycles, smartphones and AI-powered health kits on a pilot basis. They will visit homes to conduct blood pressure, diabetes and other basic health tests.

Additionally, the minister said drives led by civil surgeons and executive magistrates at private clinics across the country would be intensified to curb unnecessary caesarean operations.

The study presented at the event found that the overall budget implementation rate of surveyed public health institutions in the 2024-25 fiscal year was 85 percent. The research was jointly conducted by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and the Health Economics Unit. It assessed budget management and operations of 22 public health institutions across eight divisions of the country.