Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain on Thursday told Parliament that nearly 880 X-ray and ultrasound machines at upazila-level public hospitals across the country are lying out of order, hampering diagnostic services for patients.
Responding to a question from Jamaat-e-Islami MP for Chattogram-15 Shahjahan Chowdhury, the minister said around 485 X-ray machines in 310 hospitals and about 395 ultrasound machines in 252 hospitals are currently non-functional.
The question also sought information on shortages of doctors, nurses and medicines at upazila health complexes, the number of inoperative diagnostic machines and the main reasons for referring rural patients to urban hospitals.
According to the minister, around 40 per cent of the defective X-ray machines are beyond repair, while the remaining 60 per cent are repairable and have already been included in tender processes for maintenance.
Of the non-functional ultrasound machines, about 35 per cent are beyond repair and the remaining 65 per cent can be repaired. Tenders have also been floated for their maintenance, he said.
In reply to another question from Mymensingh-6 MP Md Kamrul Hasan, the minister said 14,460 community clinics are currently operating across Bangladesh.
He said the government has planned to establish 540 additional community clinics in wards where no such facilities exist, subject to land availability and budget allocations.
Responding to a question from Narsingdi-1 MP Khairul Kabir, Sakhawat said no compensation is provided by the state when a mother dies during childbirth.
He also informed the House that government hospitals in Dhaka admit four to five times more patients than their authorised bed capacity, making it a major challenge to keep hospital toilets clean at all times.
Replying to a question from reserved-seat MP Arifa Sultana, the minister said the government plans to recruit 100,000 healthcare workers under the Health Ministry in line with its election manifesto commitments.
In response to a question from Jamalpur-3 MP Mostafizur Rahman Babul, he said procurement of major medical equipment, including MRI, CT scan, dialysis and ICU machines, had remained stalled for a long period.
“The present government has resumed the procurement process, and the purchase of four MRI machines is currently underway,” he added.
Answering a question from Gazipur-4 MP Salah Uddin, the minister said the total number of approved physician posts in government hospitals stands at 41,806, of which 9,407 remain vacant.