Massive corruption at Jamalpur Diabetes Hospital : Govt guidelines violted, sole domination of general secretary, no proper finace management
Shah Jamal, Meandah (Jamalpur)
Jamalpur Diabetes General Hospital has become a shining example of how a public welfare-oriented hospital can become a den of personal interests and corruption.
For years, irregular activities, violation of government guidelines and exploitation of officials, employees and patients have been going on here. The sole dominance of the hospital's general secretary, financial opacity and the 'corruption festival' of the store section have pushed the institution to the brink of collapse.
The investigation has uncovered shocking images of crimes.
According to the approved original constitution of the organization, the term of the committee was fixed at 2 years, but later it was forcibly increased to 3 years. The greed for power is so intense that the constitution has been changed at least 5 to 6 times in the past few days. The latest is that the general secretary himself has amended the constitution as per his wishes.
The original constitution clearly states that no one can hold the post of President or General Secretary for more than two consecutive terms. But the current General Secretary has been clinging to the post for the past 20 years by adopting various dirty tricks, which is a completely illegal and unconstitutional crime.
Although there is a legal obligation to include the daily income and expenses of the hospital in a specific registry, in reality it does not exist. Audits are never conducted by any government or private accredited audit firm (CA Firm).
Instead, the general secretary and accountant have their own and trusted person conduct a 'pocket audit' in public. There is no proper accounting or proper use of lakhs of taka and various medical supplies received as donations from the government, private sector and the private sector. It has been alleged that this money is being directly embezzled.
This hospital has a written agreement with the Department of Social Services of the Ministry of Social Welfare that 25% to 30% of the incoming patients will be treated completely free of charge.
General Secretary's Arrogance: The General Secretary often openly says, "We run the hospital according to the rules of BADAS (Bangladesh Diabetic Association)." Which is different in reality.
Although this non-profit organization was created to serve diabetic patients, the cost of testing here is comparable to, and in many cases higher than, commercial and private clinics.
Consumer rights are being violated: By hanging signboards at low prices, ordinary patients are being extorted the same amount of money as private clinics, or in some cases, more.
Serious questions have been raised about the role of the current director of the hospital. He is treating patients by introducing himself as a 'Consultant in Hematology'. According to the rules of medical science, no one can write 'Consultant' next to his name without the necessary higher degree (eg: MD, FCPS etc.). There is confusion about whether he actually has this degree or not.
Moreover, despite being a full-time salaried employee of the institution, he has opened an evening chamber in the same hospital and is taking huge visits. This 'double pocket' business of the director, disregarding government and institutional policies, is completely illegal.
Hooliganism is going on in the hospital's store section. There is no active 'purchasing committee' for purchases, and therefore no supervision.
According to the rules, quotations are supposed to be taken from various organizations for any purchase, but this is not done. There is no cash memo/invoice against most of the purchases. The syndicate of stores and general secretaries is embezzling lakhs of taka every month by writing fake accounts on white paper.
The hospital is running a modern form of 'slavery'. There is extreme discrimination in the salary structure of officials and employees. The only criterion for survival here is not merit, but the 'blessing' of the general secretary.
Salaries and benefits skyrocket when the general secretary is in charge. On the contrary, those who work honestly and sincerely are constantly subjected to insults, reprimands, and threats of dismissal.
Jamalpur Diabetic General Hospital is not a private property, it is a social institution oriented towards public welfare. It is the responsibility of the District Civil Surgeon, Deputy Commissioner (DC) and senior officials of the Department of Social Services to investigate the irregularities in this institution.
The administration is being strongly urged to take swift and effective legal steps to break this criminal syndicate and return the hospital to a service institution for the common people.
