BANGLADESH

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) has started evening specialists' consultation services in the hospital, first of its kind in Bangladesh.

Professors and associate professors of Medicine, Paediatricts, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Skin and Venereal Diseases, Ear, Nose and Throat, and Physical Medicine departments will see patients everyday from 3pm to 6pm.

Vice-chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Datta on Saturday opened the services that offer specialists' prescription only for Tk 200, which is otherwise Tk 500 to Tk 700 in private chambers.

"It's an attempt to promote institutional practices in the country," the vice-chancellor told bdnews24.com after cutting ribbon of the services on the first floor of the cabin block building of the university in city's Shahbagh area.

"The university will get Tk 50 per ticket, while the rest will be paid to the specialists and staff who will work overtime," he said, adding the syndicate will decide about the payment.

"Other departments will also start sitting here gradually," he said, "We will not allow below associate professors to see patients."

Al-Amin who was waiting in the queue with his mother said he came from Comilla to see Prof Pran Gopal, a renowned ENT specialist, in the chamber.

"I came in the morning, but did not get a number. They (chamber attendants) told me to go to the BSMMU in the evening to see Pran Gopal," Al-Amin told bdnews24.com.

At least 70 tickets were sold out within 40 minutes of opening the services.

Prof M Iqbal Arslan, dean of the Basic Sciences Division, told bdnews24.com that these patients would get laboratory services until 8pm cheaper than any private facility.

He saw it a 'breakthrough' in medical practices in the country.

"If we can sustain it, it will open a new horizon," said Arslan, also a leader of pro-government doctors' forum.

Medical analysts, however, remain skeptical on the future of the services.

"It's neither an evening outdoor, nor an institutional practice," Prof Rashid-e-Mahbub, president of Health Rights Movement National Committee told bdnews24.com.

"In evening outdoors, you cannot charge more than the usual, and in institutional practices, doctors are not allowed to practice outside hospital," he said, adding the model BSMMU has launched is 'very new' to him.

"It will not be unusual if I hear one day that patients of the morning outdoor are kept for evening specialists' consultation," he said.

The university charges Tk 30 for its morning outdoor services.

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) has started evening specialists' consultation services in the hospital, first of its kind in Bangladesh.

Professors and associate professors of Medicine, Paediatricts, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Skin and Venereal Diseases, Ear, Nose and Throat, and Physical Medicine departments will see patients everyday from 3pm to 6pm.

Vice-chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Datta on Saturday opened the services that offer specialists' prescription only for Tk 200, which is otherwise Tk 500 to Tk 700 in private chambers.

"It's an attempt to promote institutional practices in the country," the vice-chancellor told after cutting ribbon of the services on the first floor of the cabin block building of the university in city's Shahbagh area.

"The university will get Tk 50 per ticket, while the rest will be paid to the specialists and staff who will work overtime," he said, adding the syndicate will decide about the payment.

"Other departments will also start sitting here gradually," he said, "We will not allow below associate professors to see patients."

Al-Amin who was waiting in the queue with his mother said he came from Comilla to see Prof Pran Gopal, a renowned ENT specialist, in the chamber.

"I came in the morning, but did not get a number. They (chamber attendants) told me to go to the BSMMU in the evening to see Pran Gopal," Al-Amin told.

At least 70 tickets were sold out within 40 minutes of opening the services.

Prof M Iqbal Arslan, dean of the Basic Sciences Division, told bdnews24.com that these patients would get laboratory services until 8pm cheaper than any private facility.

He saw it a 'breakthrough' in medical practices in the country.

"If we can sustain it, it will open a new horizon," said Arslan, also a leader of pro-government doctors' forum.

Medical analysts, however, remain skeptical on the future of the services.

"It's neither an evening outdoor, nor an institutional practice," Prof Rashid-e-Mahbub, president of Health Rights Movement National Committee told.

"In evening outdoors, you cannot charge more than the usual, and in institutional practices, doctors are not allowed to practice outside hospital," he said, adding the model BSMMU has launched is 'very new' to him.

"It will not be unusual if I hear one day that patients of the morning outdoor are kept for evening specialists' consultation," he said.

The university charges Tk 30 for its morning outdoor services.

Power has been partly restored at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) following six hours of outage. Authorities are hopeful that it will be restored fully within another hour.

Medical services at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) were seriously hampered because of power outage since Tuesday dawn.

But some activities were carried out at the intensive and critical care units using alternative methods.

"Power has been restored at five of the six blocks in the hospital around 12pm," the hospital's director Abdul Majid Bhuiyan said.

He added, "There is still no supply at D-block. We are hopeful that the supply will be restored by 1pm."

Doctors said that the treatment facility for outdoor patients was closed for the power outage. Surgeries were also halted.

Specialist doctors were unable to visit various departments at the top floors of the high-rise complex as the lifts were not working.

Even though the authorities initially said that the power outage was caused by a transformer failure, they later said it was caused by damaged wires.

Leading health professionals of Bangladesh and India have urged their prime ministers to keep public health collaboration high on their agenda in Dhaka summit, as they believe prioritisation on health 'can spur human development' and ensure health for all.

Five Indian and six Bangladeshi professionals and public health experts made the request in a letter handed over to the prime ministers offices in Dhaka and New Delhi, just before Manmohan Singh's two-day Dhaka visit on Tuesday.
  obtained a copy of the letter signed by Prof. K Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India on behalf of others.

The letter addressed to the both prime ministers sought 'considered' support for a strong bilateral initiative for strengthening public health in both countries through 'collaboration in education, learning and research.'

Prof Reddy handed over the letter to the Indian prime minister's office on Sunday while Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU)'s vice-chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Datta handed over the letter to the Bangladesh prime minster's office on Monday.

The Indian professionals are Prof Reddy, Dr A K Shiva Kumar, UNICEF adviser and member of National Advisory Council; Dr Mirai Chatterjee, Social Security Self Employed Women's Association director; Prof Rama V Varu, Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Dr Abhay Bang, director, Society for Education, Action & Research in Community Health.

The Bangladeshi professionals were: National Professor Shahla Khatun; BRAC founder and chairman Sir Fazle Hasan Abed; Bangladesh Diabetic Association president Prof A K Azad Khan; Obstetrician Prof. Samina Chowdhury; ICDDR'B deputy executive director Dr Abbas Bhuiya; and Prof Datta.

"Our (letter) focus is on bilateral cooperation in public health issues," the vice-chancellor Prof Datta said while confirming  about handing over the letter.

They identified some common gaps that still remain in both countries, despite progress and initiatives to improve the health sector and reduce health inequities.

According to the letter, the gaps are in the availability and quality of health services, health information systems based on which policy and programmes are designed, and the size and skills of the multi-layered health workforce required to meet the health system's requirements.

The letter suggested 'collaboration in capacity building for public health in all of the above dimensions' to strengthen health systems in both countries.
"We have much to gain by learning from each other and even more by learning together," it said.

The letter outlined that collaboration should involve shared educational resources, joint academic programmes, joint research projects for the design and evaluation of innovations in health service delivery, and studies of different models of health financing for Universal Health Coverage.

The doctors extolled Bangladesh's progress in recent years with different health indicators and the role of women has been seen as catalysts for community action in health.

India's launch of the National Rural Health Mission was commended for transforming access to health care and improving maternal and child health across the country.

 health experts earlier suggested a joint infectious diseases contingency plan between the neighbours to control the 'emerging' viruses as Bangladesh shares most of its border with India.

Long-disputed border issues, sharing of river water, trade, power and transit would dominate Manmohan's visit.