Doctors in limbo, patients in peril as dysfunction grips public hospitals

Highlights: TBS

Sufia Begum travelled from Lalmonirhat to Dhaka last month, hoping for an affordable cataract surgery at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, which would have cost her Tk20,000.

After waiting a month in vain, she turned to a private hospital, spending Tk80,000 for the same procedure.

The reason? The Suhrawardy's eye operation theatre has been closed since a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in October, damaging key equipment.

Seven months on, it remains shut – a symbol of the dysfunction plaguing Bangladesh's public healthcare.

"We've tried shifting equipment from other rooms, but some machines still need replacing," said Dr Md Shafiur Rahman, the hospital director. "We've informed the ministry and filed the paperwork, but I can't say when we'll be fully functional again."

Political interference 

The chaos at Suhrawardy is not an isolated case. Since Sheikh Hasina's regime ended on 5 August, over 200 government doctors have been unable to join their new posts.

Several doctors, speaking anonymously, alleged that politically affiliated physicians have seized key positions and are blocking the newly transferred from reporting for duty.

Hospitals nationwide are now facing a critical shortage of doctors, with patients bearing the brunt. Frustrated by the political interference, some doctors have already resigned.

A professor at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) said, "I was on the Swachip committee, but not a senior leader. Now I face professional isolation. No postgrad students are assigned to me, and others threaten those who were."

Kidney transplants at BMU, once a weekly routine, have nearly ceased – just two have been done since August. The lead surgeon has been allegedly barred from the hospital because of his political ties.

Officials at BMU declined to comment on the matter. However, experts warn that sidelining skilled professionals over politics risks long-term damage, as rebuilding transplant teams takes time and trust.

Doctors in limbo 

Dr Hossain Imam, associate professor of plastic surgery at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, was transferred to Rangpur Medical College on 2 September. Intern doctors there publicly rejected him, calling him a Hasina-era collaborator.

He was then reassigned to Cumilla Medical College, but eight months on, he still hasn't joined.

The health ministry said over 6,500 doctors were transferred between August 2024 and March 2025. Yet many remain blocked due to alleged political affiliations.

"We're not blaming anyone," said Professor Dr Sayedur Rahman, special assistant at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. "Some students oppose certain doctors. We're trying to resolve it by assigning less controversial individuals to sensitive institutions."

The fallout has become deeply personal.

One female plastic surgeon, transferred to Dinajpur while her husband stayed in Dhaka, now travels weekly to see her eight-year-old child. "They didn't assign me to a department. I'm the only woman in a male dormitory. It's mentally draining," she said.

A doctor couple with two toddlers were posted to Khulna and Mymensingh. "We're forced to choose between our careers and our children," they said.

At Suhrawardy Hospital, a resident surgeon was moved to Rajbari and demoted from Grade 7 to 9. After protesting, the order was reversed –- only for a new demotion to Faridpur to follow.

She has since resigned, ending a 15-year government career.

Shortages in cancer treatment 

Cancer, kidney, heart transplants and infertility treatments send the highest number of patients abroad. The interim government pledged reform, but there has been little visible progress so far.

The National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital, the country's only specialised cancer centre, has seven of its eight radiotherapy machines out of order. Only one machine now serves up to 150 patients a day, although 300 to 350 seek therapy daily.

PET-CT scans, essential for accurate cancer diagnosis, require a waiting period of three to four months at public hospitals.

Broken plans, stalled progress 

Bangladesh's healthcare sector operates through five-year operational plans (OPs), which guide services ranging from nutrition and vaccination to infectious disease control. The last one – the Fourth Health, Population, and Nutrition Sector Programme (HPNSP) – expired in June 2024.

The transitional government planned a two-year exit strategy, but no new OPs have been finalised. The deadline for submitting project proposals was 31 March. With no decision yet, the Health Directorate now fears a drug shortage at 429 NCD corners, which treat diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.

The paralysis is not limited to policy. Nine months into the transition, the chairman of the Community Clinic Health Support Trust still has no designated office space.

Budget execution at historic low 

According to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), only 16% of the health sector's Annual Development Programme (ADP) budget was utilised between July 2024 and March 2025.

The health services division managed just 14.41%, while the medical education and family welfare wing fared even worse, implementing only 2.29%.

Dr Muhammad Abdus Sabur, a public health expert, told The Business Standard that aside from treating the July–August uprising victims, no visible health sector initiative has emerged.

"The sector programme has been on hold since 1 July. Without essential medicines, the poor will suffer, and non-communicable diseases like strokes and heart attacks will rise," he warned.

"If the operational plan isn't ready yet, when will it be submitted to the Planning Commission? The next ADP is still being drafted. Whether it's eight or ten projects, they must be finalised soon – or the 2026 development budget timeline will be missed," he added.