3 upscale pvt hospitals get testing permits

More than one and a half months after the detection of first Covid-19 case in Bangladesh, the government on Tuesday gave nods to three private hospitals for conducting coronavirus diagnosis tests on a limited scale.

The upscale hospitals in the capital -- Square Hospitals, United hospital and Evercare Hospital (formerly known as Apollo Hospitals) -- will soon start performing coronavirus tests only on the patients admitted to these hospitals, health ministry officials said.

The government has fixed Tk 3,500 as the maximum limit the hospitals can charge for a test.

Health experts and many private hospitals authorities have demanded testing facilities in private hospitals following the outbreak, but the government was reluctant to move forward until recent days.

"We have sent letters to all the private hospitals to inform us whether they are capable of performing corona test. Those who have the capacity and fulfil the criteria will be permitted to test Covid-19," Dr Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told The Daily Star yesterday.

There are some 5,500 registered private hospitals and clinics across the country.

Many doctors and staff of private hospitals already tested positive for coronavirus although the diagnosis and treatment facilities for the disease were limited to government hospitals.

Arif Mahmud, senior general manager of Evercare Hospital, said they would start coronavirus testing from Saturday, adding that they were working out details of their testing facilities.

" … Already you know a huge number of medical staff are infected. So if we can identify the corona patients then it would be safe for other patients as well as for the staff."

He also said this test will help medical personnel maintain appropriate protocols before treating a patient.

According to Bangladesh Doctors Foundation, a private platform of doctors, a total of 440 doctors were infected till yesterday.

Many healthcare professionals are either in quarantine or self-isolation.

Although the outdoor patients will not be able to take Covid-19 tests in the private hospitals, health officials said the facilities would gradually be beefed up.

Asked about the limited scope for testing, Prof Nasima said,

"We are not permitting outdoor patients considering that if anyone tests positive, the private hospitals will not be able to bring that person under surveillance."

"This is the first step and certainly we will move forward with a positive attitude to gradually scale it up," she added.

Prof Muzaherul Huq, former adviser (Southeast Asia Region) at the World Health Organization, said, "Definitely, it is a good initiative. Now it is the time to expand the facilities across the country, but at the same time we have to keep an eye on the quality of the tests."

He said the government must engage private hospitals in the fight against Covid-19.

Professor Nasima, on this score, said a private hospital in Bogura had sought permission for Covid-19 testing and soon an expert team would visit the hospital to inspect its facilities.

Nasima said some hospitals in Dhaka, in response to their letter, said they did not have PCR machine to test coronavirus while some didn't want to do the test considering the safety of other patients.

"So if any organisation comes forward, we will consider it positively," she added.

According to DGHS, the country yesterday recorded 641 coronavirus cases -- so far the highest in a day – after testing samples of 4,968 people in the last 24 hours.

Eight more deaths have been recorded during this period.

As of yesterday, a total of 7,103 Covid-positive cases have been reported with 163 deaths.