The health authorities last Thursday organised a unique event at the city's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) where as many as 6221 newly-recruited doctors listened to orientation lectures delivered by the health ministry honchos. The basic objective behind organising the event was to make the doctors aware of their duties and responsibilities. The incumbent health minister, speaking at the function, advised the doctors to serve the rural people at least first couple of years of their service life with full dedication. He warned them of unpalatable consequences if they tried to move out from the respective places of their maiden postings. The process of posting of the newly-appointed doctors would begin this week.
Meanwhile, an intense lobbying has already started at all possible places on behalf of the newly-recruited doctors. The requests for getting postings in places of their choice, primarily in Dhaka or at areas adjacent to it, are reportedly being made to high officials of the health ministry, health directorate and leaders of the pro-ruling party doctors' organisations. It appears from the attitude of the newly-appointed doctors that the government's pious intention of making available the services of qualified doctors to the rural people does not carry any meaning to them.
There is no denying that most rural health facilities do not have adequate number of qualified doctors and necessary medical equipment and technicians. Most doctors appointed by the government to rural health centres either abstain from duties under different pretexts or manage transfer through lobbying. The doctors who are on the payroll of the upazila health complexes, in most cases, perform their official duties for a day or two in a week and they spend the remaining days with their families living in Dhaka or other urban centres. All the pleadings and warnings coming from the top government functionaries not to leave their work stations hardly make any impact on the mindset of the young doctors. However, the young doctors simply emulate the behaviour of their predecessors who were appointed to upazila health complexes earlier. The rot started from the very beginning.
True, the facilities available at the upazila headquarters are not as modern as those found in Dhaka and other major cities. But the situation is now far better than what it used be 10 or 20 years back. The upazila headquarters now have electricity and are connected to nearby district headquarters and Dhaka through better road communications network. Moreover, while living in rural areas one at least gets the opportunity to consume fresh and chemical-free fish, vegetable and fruits. The government may consider payment of some fiscal incentive to doctors posted in rural and semi-urban health facilities. It should also make it mandatory for the specialist physicians working at large public hospitals to spend at least a couple of days in upazila health complexes every month. This would help motivate the young doctors to serve the rural people.
