Govt moves to simplify licensing process for private hospitals and clinics

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has taken an initiative to simplify the licensing and renewal process for private hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centres across Bangladesh. Officials are considering extending the licence validity period from one year to two or three years and introducing a single-window system to streamline approvals from multiple agencies.

Professor Dr Abu Hossain Md Moinul Ahsan, Director (Hospitals and Clinics) at DGHS, said that hospital authorities currently need to submit a long list of documents to renew their licences — including trade licences, environmental clearance, VAT and tax certificates, fire service approval, and waste management permits.

"In some cases, hospitals and brick kilns are subject to the same environmental regulations, which is impractical. We've proposed simplifying this process," he told The Business Standard.

He added that the DGHS is also discussing a proposal to bring all approvals under a single authority to minimise delays.

Complex process discouraging renewal

According to DGHS data, Bangladesh currently has around 15,000 private hospitals and clinics, but only 6,024 are officially registered. Many have not renewed their licences, with stakeholders blaming the complex and lengthy approval process.

Dr A M Shamim, Managing Director of Labaid Group and Secretary General of the Bangladesh Private Hospital, Clinic and Diagnostic Owners Association, told The Business Standard: "Running a hospital requires up to 18 different licences within a year. By the time we finish renewing them, the next cycle begins. We want the licensing process to be handled by a single authority or through a third-party system like BGMEA."

He further said that extending licence validity and centralising the process would encourage timely renewals and enhance transparency in the private healthcare sector.

"If the system becomes more efficient, hospitals will be more willing to renew on time. We're also working to improve quality standards through training and benchmark criteria for our member institutions," he added.

Oversight gaps and public trust issues

Experts have warned that despite the private sector providing a large share of healthcare services, government oversight remains weak. Poor monitoring has allowed some facilities to operate without maintaining proper standards, resulting in substandard diagnostics, mistreatment, and declining public trust — even in high-end hospitals.

The Health Reform Commission, in its 2024 report, identified the lack of regulatory control over private healthcare institutions as a major concern. It found that as of February 2024, out of 15,233 private hospitals and clinics, only 4,123 had renewed their licences, while 1,027 were operating without any valid licence.

The report cited four main reasons behind non-compliance:

• A cumbersome approval process involving multiple agencies.
• Conflicting requirements between departments (e.g. DGHS demanding an environmental certificate while the environment department requires a hospital licence first).
• High fees, which discourage small clinics.
• Lengthy delays and corruption, with approvals often taking two to three years even after submission of proper documents.

To address these challenges, the commission recommended launching a "single service centre" for all licensing and administrative functions of private health facilities.

Call for stronger accountability and quality assurance

The reform report also recommended introducing a quality-based grading system (A–D), establishing an institutional accreditation mechanism, and requiring all hospitals with over 50 beds to have a management board led by a senior physician to ensure accountability and service quality.

Special Assistant to the Health Ministry Dr Sayedur Rahman said, "Regulation should not mean oppression. Oversight authorities must not act in an authoritarian manner. Both public and private medical institutions should follow uniform quality standards. The standard of care in Dhaka should also be available in Kurigram."

Drug administration tightening quality control

Like the hospital licensing reform, the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) is also working to strengthen regulation and pricing in the pharmaceutical sector. The government currently sets prices for 117 essential medicines but plans to expand the list to 250, including oxygen.

Dr Akhtar Hossain, Director of DGDA, told The Business Standard, "We conduct regular drives to detect substandard medicines or medical devices in the market. Despite manpower shortages, we are continuing our quality enforcement operations."