The High Court on Thursday stayed for three months the government’s decision to distribute 50 per cent of hospital users’ fees among doctors, nurses and employees.
The health and family welfare ministry on September 9, 2009, issued a notification increasing the ‘user fees’ in all public health facilities and on July 22, 2010, decided to distribute 50 per cent of the fund among doctors, nurses and employees.
The court also asked the government to explain in three weeks why they would not be directed to ensure better treatment in the public hospitals and not to increase user fee further.
The court also asked the government to form a committee consisting of representatives of health and finance ministries, and experts within 15 days to prepare a guideline for providing better treatment to patients at the public hospitals.
The committee was asked to submit a report to the court within four weeks after preparing a list of medical equipment which are necessary for ensuring better treatment.
A bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain passed the order and directives after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh to stop further increasing of the users’ fee and seeking a directive on the government to ensure better treatment at the public hospitals.
Moving the writ petition, Manzill Murshid, the counsel for HRPB, told the court that the government was increasing users’ fee day by day and after collecting the fees, the hospital authorities were distributing the fund among service providers, which is illegal.
