Vital medical equipment lying idle in government-run hospitals

Unauthorised companies are smuggling a number of cardiac medical devices into the country and selling those to some of Dhaka’s top public and private hospitals without proper vetting, raising questions about health regulations and patient safety.

Public hospitals in the capital purchased medical equipment at astronomical prices during the first four months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, according to an audit report. 

Seven out of every ten healthcare facilities in Bangladesh do not have all of the six basic equipment required to treat patients, a government survey finds.

AUTHORITIES appear blissfully unconcerned about the fact that the fire extinguishing equipment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) had expired over a year ago.