ACC conducts drive at NICVD

A team of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted a drive at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital (NICVD) in the capital on Tuesday following allegations of irregularities and bribery there.
A four-member enforcement team of ACC, led by its assistant director Farzana Yasmin, conducted the drive for nearly four hours at the hospital in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
The ACC team, acting on complaints documented through Hotline 106, found that people are bound to give bribe to the hospital staffs to get basic services.
The ACC team unearthed that service recipients need to give bribe amounting to Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 to the ward boys to have a bed in the hospital, while Tk 200 to Tk 250 bribe is required for emergency electrocardiography (ECG) test avoiding long queue.
Even, the hospital staffs illegally charge Tk 400 to Tk 500 for a death certificate.
Besides, the ACC team observed that the hospital has been using two rundown medical autoclaves (germicide) in heart operations, mounting possibility of infection to the respective patients.
Death incidents of heart patients due to infection have also increased at the hospital since this August.
While asked, Professor Dr M R Caesar told the ACC team that only one of the two operation theatres (OT) is functioning right now, while the other is under renovation.
He said there are possibilities that the patients could suffer from infection due to water leakage at the OT.
Mr Caesar also acknowledged that there are roles of the ward boys and Ansar members in irregularities, and the hospital authority will take actions shortly to expel these people from NICVD complex.
Talking to the FE, ACC Director General (Admin) and coordinator of the drive Muhammad Munir Chowdhury said, "Discipline in management of the hospital has not been maintained, which is unforgivable."
ACC will hold the hospital authorities responsible, if they fail to eliminate such mismanagement and graft incidents soon, he warned.
The anti-graft watchdog will launch an investigation into the allegations, as corruption is behind the irregularities, he added.

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