Govt committed to ensuring safety of healthcare providers: Home adviser

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Tuesday said that the government is committed to ensuring safety of healthcare providers and others involved in this sector.

Expressing grief over the recent incidents involving attacks on hospitals, physicians and others, the adviser said the government has been working with the civil surgeon administration and police department closely to address the issues.

Speaking as the chief guest on the closing day of the two-day Civil Surgeon Conference-2025 at the Shaheed Abu Sayed International Convention Centre in Dhaka on Tuesday, Jahangir reminded the participants about their responsibility towards the people, calling them talented persons of the society.

"You [physicians] are the light of hope for people, a refuge of trust in times of trouble," he said.

He also made a series of recommendations, which include bringing post-mortem services to the police station level; conducting post-mortems for women by female doctors; ensuring examinations in cases of rape are conducted by female doctors, and if unavailable, by female nurses with signatures from male doctors; closing private medical colleges that are teacherless and resourcesless and building-centered; forming an accreditation council to improve the quality of medical colleges; arranging for intern doctors to receive training for six months in the city and six months in the village, and increasing honoraria during their time in the village.

People will get service fast along with reducing suffering of the service seekers, if those suggestions are implemented, he said.

Highlighting the role of physicians in mental health and anti-drug drive, the adviser urged the civil surgeons to cooperate with the police stations and the Department of Narcotics Control to rehabilitate and counsel the drug addicts.

Regarding the alleged negligence of the physicians in performing duty, he expressed the hope that the physicians will overcome and prove it as a lie.

During the question-answer session, the attendants put forward some demands to the adviser who assured them of providing assistance in fulfilling those.

The demands include recognition of the establishment of KPIs for district hospitals and increasing police patrols there, modernization of the district post-mortem center and provision of bodyguards for civil surgeons.

Chief Adviser's Special Assistant on the Ministry of Health and Family Planning Dr Md Sayedur Rahman, Cabinet Secretary Dr Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Health Service Secretary Md Saidur Rahman, Directorate of Health Education and Family Welfare Secretary Dr Md Sarwar Bari, among others, were present at the event.