Health ministry asks Home to stop raids at hospitals
The health ministry has asked on Wednesday (August 5) to stop the law enforcing agencies from conducting inspections in hospitals amid Covid-19 outbreak.
In a letter to the home ministry on Wednesday, the Health Services Division cited some sort of discontent among the organizations providing health care services because different agencies are used to conduct drives on a single hospital.
The letter asked the home ministry to coordinate with the Health Services Division or the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division if such a drive is deemed urgent.
It noted that the Health Services Division has formed a task force to monitor the activities of the government and private hospitals with a joint secretary-level officer from the home ministry’s Public Security Division as a member.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque discussed the issue with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, according to the letter.
The Rapid Action Battalion arrested Mohammad Shahed, the owner of Regent Hospital, after raids on its two branches last month revealed a massive fake COVID-19 test report scam.
Later, the RAB shut down Shahabuddin hospital in Gulshan and arrested an official for allegedly conducting unauthorized COVID-19 tests.
Earlier in June, the police unearthed a similar scam at JKG Health Care that led to the arrests of its CEO Ariful Chaudhury and his wife doctor Sabrina A Chaudhury.