Medicine Theft at RMCH
Doctor-staff nexus unearthed by MPs
Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) has launched an investigation after two local lawmakers in a sudden visit on Thursday discovered that doctors and staff together are engaged in medicine theft depriving the patients.
The lawmakers, Omar Faruk Chowdhury and Fazle Hossain Badsha, found the doctors were forcing patients to buy medicine from outside, despite availability of the government allocated medicine in the hospital store.
According to the MPs and hospital officials, one Abul Kashem of Darikhorbona in the city was admitted to the orthopedic ward of the hospital on February 12 with a fracture in his left leg. He was scheduled to undergo surgery on February 22.
But the surgery was delayed for two days and the on-duty doctor Shahidul Islam Khan prescribed the patient to provide 20 kinds of medicines, injections, and medical equipment for the surgery on February 24.
Kashem's attendant found the medicines cost around Tk 10,000, which the patient is unable to afford. Kshem turned to the MPs for arranging the money. Instead of giving them money, the MPs rushed to the hospital.
The hospital authorities informed the MPs that the government provides 17 kinds of medicines and equipment that were mentioned in the prescription.
More interestingly, the MPs found in the hospital store documents that the 17 kinds of available medicines were sent to the orthopedics ward for Abul Kashem on February 23.
Dr Shahidul Islam Khan, Orthopedics department chairman Dr BK Dam, the store in-charge Dr ABM Mansur Rahman, and the concerned ward's senior staff nurse Mamunur Rashid failed to give any satisfactory explanation to the MPs when they were called at the hospital director's room.
“As we are not the proper authority for taking actions against the doctors, a probe body has been formed to properly investigate into the matter and report within Sunday”, RMCH Director Brig Gen Ashraful Alam Chowdhury told The Daily Star.
He said Dr Sayed Golam Kibria, head of the blood transfusion medicine department, was leading the three-member probe team.
Omar Faruk Chowdhury MP said the allegation of medicine stealing through cheating patients is not new, but we are concerned finding involvement of doctors in the process.
Fazle Hossain Badsha told journalists that they spotted the crooked group. “Now the authority is responsible for bringing the culprits under law.”
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