Corruptions overshadow glory of once famous Kumudini Hospital
Saturday, 12 January 2008
MIRZAPUR, Jan 11 (UNB): Kumudini Hospital, once renowned in the subcontinent, has lost most of its glory of providing sound healthcare services due to alleged mismanagement and corruption.
Late Roy Bahadur Ranada Prasad Saha, popularly known as RP Saha, had established the hospital on July 27, 1944 with 20 beds on 110 acres of land on the bank of Louhajang river at Mirzapur in Tangail district. His aim was to provide free healthcare services to the poor and rural people. The number of beds has now been raised to 750.
RP Saha named the hospital, the country's largest private hospital in terms of area, after his mother Kumudini who died in 1901 from tetanus without any treatment. RP Saha was then seven years old.
Although the hospital was set up for providing free medicare to the poor people, the scenario has changed now as treatment cost increased manifold surpassing even that of private clinics.
This is compelling poor people as well as middle and lower middle income group to go to the nearby clinics. Several clinics have been set up capitalising on the expensive treatment at the Kumudini Hospital.
During 1960-1990, the hospital used to remain crowded with different types of patients from across the country, even from the capital.
In those periods, country's many noted physicians remained on queue to serve at the Kumudini Hospital. Currently, there are about 100 doctors at the hospital. Half of them are interns and there are allegations that for their wrong treatment many patients had died in the recent years.
Blaming the hospital authorities, Shamsul Alam, a farmer and father of a patient who was admitted at the hospital, said the hospital authority told him that his son needed four bags of blood. And he was able to manage two bags from donors and rest two bags against payment to save the life of his 20-year-old son.
Alam said two bags of blood were used for his son, who was critically injured in a road accident, but he does not know about the other two bags.
He alleged that the gatekeepers of the hospital took Tk 10 from him thrice in the last three days when he tried to enter the hospital after the visiting hours. "They (gatekeepers) take money from strangers, who are not locals, for entrance," he said.
Baten, a local rickshaw-puller, said his daughter died last year at the hospital, as no physician was available in time. When he asked a nurse about the doctors on emergency duty, she said the emergency doctor was sleeping. "I could not do anything but just look at her as my small cute daughter died groaning in front of me," he said with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Denying most of the allegations, Director of Kumudini Hospital Dr Dulal Podder said the hospital management does not encourage its staff members to engage in corruption or negligence of duty. "We suspect that some unscrupulous employees are trying to foil discipline. We are keeping a close watch to nab them."
He said: "If I'm not informed about their (patients) problems, how shall I take action… the sufferers must come forward with their complaints as I'm accessible to all."
The guardians of patients have to pay double for medicines manufactured by Kumudini Pharmaceuticals from its medicine centre, run by its employees. Prices of such medicines are much less at the local pharmacies, but patients are asked by the hospital authorities to buy medicines from its centre, it was alleged.
Late Roy Bahadur Ranada Prasad Saha, popularly known as RP Saha, had established the hospital on July 27, 1944 with 20 beds on 110 acres of land on the bank of Louhajang river at Mirzapur in Tangail district. His aim was to provide free healthcare services to the poor and rural people. The number of beds has now been raised to 750.
RP Saha named the hospital, the country's largest private hospital in terms of area, after his mother Kumudini who died in 1901 from tetanus without any treatment. RP Saha was then seven years old.
Although the hospital was set up for providing free medicare to the poor people, the scenario has changed now as treatment cost increased manifold surpassing even that of private clinics.
This is compelling poor people as well as middle and lower middle income group to go to the nearby clinics. Several clinics have been set up capitalising on the expensive treatment at the Kumudini Hospital.
During 1960-1990, the hospital used to remain crowded with different types of patients from across the country, even from the capital.
In those periods, country's many noted physicians remained on queue to serve at the Kumudini Hospital. Currently, there are about 100 doctors at the hospital. Half of them are interns and there are allegations that for their wrong treatment many patients had died in the recent years.
Blaming the hospital authorities, Shamsul Alam, a farmer and father of a patient who was admitted at the hospital, said the hospital authority told him that his son needed four bags of blood. And he was able to manage two bags from donors and rest two bags against payment to save the life of his 20-year-old son.
Alam said two bags of blood were used for his son, who was critically injured in a road accident, but he does not know about the other two bags.
He alleged that the gatekeepers of the hospital took Tk 10 from him thrice in the last three days when he tried to enter the hospital after the visiting hours. "They (gatekeepers) take money from strangers, who are not locals, for entrance," he said.
Baten, a local rickshaw-puller, said his daughter died last year at the hospital, as no physician was available in time. When he asked a nurse about the doctors on emergency duty, she said the emergency doctor was sleeping. "I could not do anything but just look at her as my small cute daughter died groaning in front of me," he said with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Denying most of the allegations, Director of Kumudini Hospital Dr Dulal Podder said the hospital management does not encourage its staff members to engage in corruption or negligence of duty. "We suspect that some unscrupulous employees are trying to foil discipline. We are keeping a close watch to nab them."
He said: "If I'm not informed about their (patients) problems, how shall I take action… the sufferers must come forward with their complaints as I'm accessible to all."
The guardians of patients have to pay double for medicines manufactured by Kumudini Pharmaceuticals from its medicine centre, run by its employees. Prices of such medicines are much less at the local pharmacies, but patients are asked by the hospital authorities to buy medicines from its centre, it was alleged.