N95 Mask Scam Mugda hospital director made OSD
The government has removed Mugda Medical College Hospital director Shahid Md Sadiqul Islam making him an officer on special duty amid the controversy surrounding the quality of masks the hospital received from the Central Medical Stores Depot to fight the COVID-19 health emergency.
Sadiqul Islam told New Age on Thursday that he received the government order in this regard on Wednesday but denied making any more comment on it.
Additional health secretary (administration) Md Habibur Rahman Khan said that there was no relation between the director’s remark on N95 mask and attaching him to the Directorate General of Health Services.
He said that the decision was made to strengthen the management of the hospital as the hospital was dedicated to treating COVID-19 patents.
On April 1, Mugda hospital director sent two letters — one to IEDCR and another to DGHS — requesting them to check the accuracy of masks provided by CMSD.
He also made public comment against the masks through television interviews.
In another order issued on April 26, Mugda Medical College Hospital acting principal Shah Golam Nabi was asked to take the director’s responsibilities in addition to his present role.
Before this incident, at least two more physicians were either transferred or served show-cause notices for speaking against the substandard personal protective equipment and masks.
According to the health directorate’s personal protective equipment guidelines, use of N95 masks are crucial to safely treating COVID-19 patients and testing samples.
However, the masks that the CMSD delivered to different hospitals by the end of March were surgical ones, though the packets carried the label of ‘N95’ mask, creating confusion among the physicians.
The chairman of the Mugda Medical College and Hospital’s governing body Saber Hossain Chowdhury sent a letter to the DGHS and CMSD director questioning the quality of the masks.
Following the letter, CMSD director Md Shahidullah in a press conference on April 2 admitted that the delivered masks were ordinary surgical masks and said the packets were labelled N95 ‘by mistake’.
Earlier on March 31, Khulna Medical College Hospital director Manjur Morshed was made director of Pabna Mental Hospital amid the COVID-19 crisis.
About the transfer, health ministry additional secretary Habibur Rahman said that Manjur Morshed was transferred to Pabna as he had spent over three years in Khulna.
He said that Manjur Morshed’s transfer was instituted since he was a good administrator and Pabna Mental Hospital had been in need of a skilled person for long.
On April 18, a physician of Noakhali General Hospital has been asked to explain why departmental action will not be taken against him for criticising the secretary of Health Services Division over inadequate PPE.
The hospital’s superintendent Mohammad Farid Uddin Chowdhury, in a show-cause letter, asked physician Abu Taher to give his explanation in three working days regarding the criticism he posted on Facebook.
Taher is working as a medical officer (anaesthetist) at the state-run 250-bed hospital.
Meanwhile, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president Hasanul Huq Inu and general secretary Shirin Akhter in a statement expressed their dissatisfaction over making Mugda Hospital director OSD.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
