'Mismanagement in hospitals obstacle to quality health service'

In this backdrop, they suggested increasing the number of human resources, especially nurses, paramedics and health technologists, as well as improving the standard of medical education to reduce mortality rate and develop overall health services.

Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) organised the roundtable on 'Millennium Challenge: Human Resource for Health Development in Bangladesh' at the National Press Club in the city yesterday to mark the Health Day 2006.

Speaking as chief guest, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said there are only 38,206 doctors and 20,034 nurses for the 14 crore people of the country.

The ratio of one doctor for 3,664 people and one nurse for 6,988 is too imbalanced, while the doctor-nurse ratio is even worse, which is 1.9 nurses for one doctor, he said.

"Moreover, many posts in the health sector are still vacant," the health minister said, adding that the government has filled up a good number of posts with doctors and other health workers.

Emphasising the skill development of the nurses, increasing their number and maintaining the standard of postgraduate education, AKM Zafar Ullah Khan, secretary to health ministry, said the budget for the health sector has to be doubled and the doctors must be made accountable.

Presently, mothers' mortality rate is 320 per one lakh, infant mortality 65 per one thousand and children under 5 mortality 88 per one thousand.

To reach the millennium goals, mothers' mortality rate should be reduced to 120, infant mortality to 38 and institutional delivery of the pregnant mothers to be made at least 50 percent, said BMA Secretary General Dr AZM Zahid Hossain.

Dr Zakir Hussain, health consultant to Asian Development Bank, suggested conducting a need assessment of different categories of health forces and strengthening public-private partnership for developing human resources in the sector.

Yuki Yoshimura, advisor to project formulation of Japan International Cooperation Agency's (JICA), suggested formation of a technical working group on human resource development.

National Press Club President Reaz Uddin Ahmed demanded that the government stop private practices by the doctors of the public hospitals and monitor properly the standard of the private clinics mushrooming at different corners of the country.

BMA President In-Charge Dr AKM Azizul Haque chaired the roundtable also addressed by Justice Abdur Rouf, MA Akmal Hossain Azad, director general of Family Planning, Khadiza Begum, director of Nursing Directorate, Dr Khaled Hassan of World Health Organisation, Ataus Samad, advisory editor to the daily Amar Desh and Gias Kamal Chowdhury, president of one faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists.