Trust fund for community clinics to be created: PM

‘We would like to form in the future a Trust Fund like the PM’s Education Trust Fund for ensuring the medicare services for people,’ she said.
The Prime Minister was addressing a programme arranged by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry at Osmani Memorial Auditorium to distribute Best Community Clinic Award 2014 and launch the Interactive Learning Module for community clinic health providers.
Sheikh Hasina said the objective to establish such a Trust Fund is to give a solid ground for the community clinics across the county so that no one could shut these down through just an order after the change of government.
‘We’ve had a very bitter experience… we want to make these community clinics self-reliant financially.’
She mentioned that each community clinic will have its own account and local people will be the members of the committee for running it.
‘Government grants will go to that account and the affluent section of the community will donate to the fund, too.’
The local committee will fix how many signatures to be needed to withdraw money from the account, said Hasina adding that the people who will come to the community clinics for receiving preliminary treatment could donate if they want to. ‘Different organisations can donate to this fund as well,’ she added.
From this Fund, she said, the community clinics will be operated, while the utility bills of the clinics will be paid from this fund to make the clinics self-sufficient.
The Prime Minister recalled that the community clinic project was launched during the past Awami League government in 1996, but after the change of the government in 2001, the BNP-Jamaat regime shut down the clinics through issuing an order.
‘But, with the formation of the Fund, local people will be able to run their community clinics and then those will be permanent ones,’ she said.
Briefly describing various development programmes of the present government for developing the medicare services across the country, the Prime Minister said there would be two new Medical Universities in Rajshahi and Chittagong. ‘We’ll gradually set up medical universities in all the divisional headquarters,’ she told the function.
Criticising the whimsical demands for to set up medical colleges everywhere of the country, Hasina said, ‘Medical colleges are necessary, but setting up so many medical colleges is not logical because this is a specialized subject. If this is done indiscriminately, then patient-saving doctors will hardly be produced…we don’t need patient-killing doctor.’
She said there should a policy recommend where medical colleges could be established. ‘What type facilities are there, we have to know that before setting up medical colleges, we shouldn’t succumb to whims,’ the PM added.

 
- See more at: http://newagebd.net/150525/trust-fund-for-community-clinics-to-be-created-pm/#sthash.p6hxab8x.dpuf