Govt to launch emergency hospital alarm system ‘Pagla Ghonta’

The government is planning to introduce a central emergency alarm system, “Pagla Ghonta”, at medical facilities to ensure the safety and security of healthcare workers and patients.

Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said the system will be introduced on a pilot basis at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital after Eid-ul-Azha.

He also said the government is planning to set up a police outpost in the Mohakhali area, which houses several health agencies and hospitals.

The initiatives come following a series of recent incidents in which doctors and hospital administrators were reportedly attacked.

The minister made the remarks while responding to journalists’ questions at a programme at the Central Medical Stores Depot in Dhaka.

At the event, he handed over one ventilator -- a life-support machine used in ICUs -- and five oxygen concentrators each to 10 hospitals to revive intensive care services.

The hospitals are the 250-bed general hospitals in Tangail, Sunamganj, Gopalganj and Jashore; sadar hospitals in Madaripur, Bagerhat and Chuadanga; general hospitals in Munshiganj and Narayanganj; and Sherpur District Hospital, each of which has a 10-bed ICU.