Taming coronavirus rampage: Now it's time to put hostipal wards to test
Over the last few days, Health and Hope Hospital has put a restriction on the number of attendants with a patient to just one, at any time of the day.
It has pasted a guideline for proper hand washing and introduced hand rub just at the key entrance to make sure that everyone cleans their hands before entering the healthcare facility -- a gauge the private hospital has taken to prevent the contagion of the exponentially communicable coronavirus.
During writing, the lethal, pneumonia-like disease has afflicted 44 persons and claimed the lives of five because it was first reported on March 7.
The 16-year hospital isn't an isolated case.
About one-fourth of a kilometre away may be the sprawling Square Hospitals, which has also taken such measures. Therefore did the state-of-the-art Apollo Hospital in Bashundhara residential area.
"We are taking down the travel history of any patient arriving at us for treatment," said Mahmud Hossain, senior manager of Health insurance and Hope.
The 80-bed hospital is probably the 200-bed hostipal wards and clinics that contain cropped up on Panthapath, Green Road and greater Dhanmondi area of Dhaka city during the last three decades.
The inadequate number of public hospitals in comparison to the populace and their lacking facilities and services have drawn private investors to the business enterprise of medicare since early 1980s.
Since that time, private investors poured in a large number of crores of taka to create state-of-the-art hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres.
The private healthcare sector is growing and attracting investment from home and abroad, because of the expanding income for steady growth of the Bangladesh's economy, rising health awareness and a burgeoning middle-class who are actually demanding -- better and quality services.
For instance, Impulse Hospital in Dhaka started procedure in September 2017 and 33 more organizations 've got no objection certificate from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to create hospitals, clinic and diagnostic facilities.
Lately in February, Evercare and UK's CDC Group said it would dominate majority stakes of Apollo Hospital Dhaka's owner STS Holdings.
The transaction value, which remains undisclosed, is reported to be in the neighbourhood of thousand crores of taka.
The industry's total annual turnover of will be $6 billion -- which is double that of the annual pharmaceutical market -- in fact it is growing at 25 per cent every year at the very least, according to AM Shamim, managing director of Labaid Group, one of the primary private sector healthcare providers.
From 1989 with a diagnostic centre in Dhaka, Labaid today operates 30 diagnostic centres, a 350-bed cardiac hospital and a specialised hospital.
People's predisposition has evolved, he said.
"Once, many were desperate to get a cabin in Dhaka Medical College Hospital for caesarean delivery. Now, none of them go there."
People now head straight to the doctors' if they're unwell, which was not the case before. Self-consciousness and awareness have increased.
"So, you will find a gap available in the market," Shamim added.
So much that the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has put healthcare as a potential sector for investment.
It said Bangladesh has about $2 billion of untapped healthcare market.
The demand for health care is growing 21 % annually, according to BIDA.
For the reason that, the demand for healthcare services is accelerating as a result of increasing purchasing power of the growing middle and upper middle classes, it said
Bangladeshis spend about $2.04 billion in a year for treatment abroad, which is 1.94 % of the country's total GDP, according to BIDA.
Including Labaid's healthcare facilities, the united states has 5,000 private hospitals and clinics, according to Directorate General of Health Services' (DGHS) Health Bulletin 2018.
In 2007, the amount of private clinics and hospitals was 1,000, plus they had 16,000 beds, just half the full total beds in public sector hospital, showed official data.
Sector insiders said the pace of establishment of medical centres by private sector rose at the turn of this century, facilitated by government's patronisation, particularly withdrawal of value-added tax on diagnostic services and duty benefit to import diagnostic and hospital equipment.
Today, because of expansion, private healthcare providers have treatment facilities for diseases such as for example heart, kidney and liver.
Once people used to visit India or Thailand for bypass surgeries, said Md Mainul Ahasan, secretary general of the Bangladesh Private Clinic and Diagnostic Owner's Association (BPCDOA).
Now, that surgery can easily be performed in Bangladesh.
Only a section of affluent persons goes abroad for the surgery.
"We have had a whole lot of development and we are advancing," said Ahasan, also the managing director of Green Life Medical College & Hospital.
Before, diagnostic tests for several diseases weren't available.
"Today, whole body scanning can be done here," he added.
Private healthcare providers focus on 64 % of the treatment in Bangladesh, said ABM Haroon, managing director of Samorita Hospital, one of the oldest private hospitals in the country.
"The rest is done by the general public sector," said Haroon, also senior vice president of Bangladesh Private Clinic and Diagnostic Owner's Association (BPCDOA).
MEDICAL Bulletin 2018 showed that private sector hospitals and clinics have 90,600 beds, whereas hospital beds beneath the DGHS were 53,000.
There is a dependence on the private sector to expand further to supply affordable healthcare to persons in the low-income bracket, said Ahasan, who's your physician by training.
More hospitals are also needed to discourage people from going to India for treatment, he said.
"There continues to be enough opportunity available in the market. The amount of patients is huge. So, you will have no shortage of treatment seekers if big hospitals include quality doctors," he added.
Haroon said investment is specially necessary outside of the metropolitan cities in a way that residents will get better healthcare services.
Investment to build up more nursing institute is essential as well, he said, while calling after the government to declare it a thrust sector.
Despite the expansion of private health care services, a sizable number of folks still go outside for treatment as a result of confidence deficit.
"A section of the highly-affluent population will always go abroad in their search for better treatment," said Rumana Huque, professor of the department of economics at the Dhaka University.
But the middle income will remain here for treatment if regulation and monitoring are strengthened to ensure quality care by the private sector.
Haque, who follows the healthcare system in Bangladesh, suggested the federal government to repair standards or certain requirements for hospitals and clinics to check out so that the authorities can monitor the quality of care.
"This will improve the confidence of people."
Non-communicable diseases such as for example diabetes, hypertension, kidney and heart diseases are increasing and treatment of the diseases cost quite a bit.
As the government does not have enough resources to make sure treatment for the country's large numbers of population, the private sector will always plays a crucial role in this regard, according to Haque.
"But the government must ensure treatment for the low-income and poor persons at cost free. As well, the government must take responsibility to ensure primary healthcare."
Many jobs will be created if the federal government encourages the private sector.
But the government has to regulate and monitor so that the private sector improves the standard of care and they usually do not operate limited to profits.
If anything, the government must motivate the private sector for the sake of pandemics, as the united states is now facing.
"We need response or readiness of the private sector aswell. The federal government cannot provide care to such an enormous population," Haque added.
BPCDOA President Md Maniruzzman Bhuiyan said the private sector played a significant role in the treating dengue fever this past year.
And those private healthcare providers that contain pathologies with all types of facilities can handle testing coronavirus and treating patients with COVID-19, he said.
"We've already called after the private hospitals to open isolation unit. Already, some hospitals have opened such and collected Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for treatment. We are able to start diagnosis once testing kits for the virus can be found," he added.
DGHS Director (Hospital & Clinic) Aminul Hasan said hostipal wards have not been given permission to check for COVID-19 -- yet.
"But we have asked them to open isolation units. They'll identify patients according to case definition and keep the patients in isolation units if required and inform IEDCR (Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research) for diagnosis."
However, medical office has not fixed any rate for treatment of COVID-19 positive patients, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) support.
"They will make an effort to charge liberal rates out of their own conscience," he added.
The federal government should involve the private sector to fight the coronavirus pandemic holistically because they take into account the majority of the healthcare system in Bangladesh, said Lenin Choudhury, chairman of Health and Hope.
The country includes a total of 143,400 hospital beds and the private sector makes up about 63 % of the full total, according to DGHS.
Of the ICU beds in the united states, the majority are in the private sector, according to Choudhury.
Private hospitals have started collecting PPEs independently.
"The initiative from the government to involve the private hospitals is not visible enough. We've seen that India has already involved private labs for testing of coronavirus."
If the virus spreads to the wider population, it will be necessary to dedicate some ICUs of hostipal wards for treatment of COVID-19 patients.
"And the federal government should give instructions now. The private sector healthcare providers have the capacity to provide treatment for the condition."
They would be enthusiastic participants if the government frames the rules, instructions and necessary support.
"And Health and Hope also really wants to participate," he said.
The private medical care provider has recently opened isolation unit along with numerous others to join the fight to against the deadly virus.
