United News of Bangladesh

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain on Sunday reimbursed a patient from his own pocket after finding that the patient was asked to buy saline from outside despite the item being available in the stock of Naogaon 250-bed General Hospital. He made an unannounced visit to the hospital around 10:30am and inspected different wards, the operating theatre, pharmacy and kitchen. He also spoke to patients during his hour-long inspection. During the visit, Sakhawat expressed displeasure after learning that a nurse asked a patient to purchase saline from outside despite its availability in the hospital stock. He reimbursed the patient for the cost of the saline from his own pocket and instructed the hospital authorities to investigate the matter. After completing the inspection, the minister went to the office of the hospital superintendent and called doctors who were absent from duty on their mobile phones, seeking explanations for their absence. Talking to journalists later, Sakhawat said he found irregularities during the inspection, including the failure to provide patients with saline available in the hospital stock.