Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the authorities concerned to give special attention to private medical colleges to ensure that they are maintaining the standard of education properly.

“Private sector is coming forward, they are establishing medical colleges, but I will ask to give more attention to them to make sure that they are maintaining the standard of education and they have the proper medical curriculum,” she said.

She said this while inaugurating the two-day Criticon Bangladesh 2018, 3rd International Conference on Critical Care Medicine and 1st National Conference on Critical Care Nursing at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh in the capital.

Bangladesh Society of Critical Care Medicine (BSCCM) and Critical Care Nursing Society jointly organised the programme.

The PM said the government has given utmost importance to the development of healthcare facilities and will do everything needed for this purpose.

“We want to make the healthcare facilities available at the doorsteps of people, even in the rural areas," she said.

She mentioned that the government, in its previous 1996-2001 tenure, introduced community clinics, aiming to provide medicare services in the rural areas.

"But the BNP-Jamaat government shut those down just due to political vendetta. After coming to power in 2009, we have resumed the services and it is giving good results," she said.

Hasina said medicare service is a great and noble profession and the physicians will have to render services to their patients with sincerity and dedication.

Putting emphasis on receiving training, she mentioned that her government wants Bangladesh's doctors and nurses to be trained in foreign countries.

Referring to the improved medicare services in Singapore, Hasina said Bangladesh's trained physicians and nurses would also be able to ensure better services as the country is not lagging behind in terms of talent and knowledge.

She assured that more steps would be taken to provide improved foreign training to physicians and nurses.

She also directed the authorities concerned to impose restrictions on the entry of huge number of visitors to hospitals, particularly to ICU, saying a patient in the sensitive zone might face serious harm due to infections caused by the visitors.

Hasina, however, highly praised the doctors and nurses working at the ICU and said they do a noble job like bringing patients with critical condition back to normal health.

About the steps of her government for further improving medicare services, Hasina said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) was established as the country's first medical university, while three more medical universities are being set up -- one in Chittagong, one in Rajshahi and another in Sylhet.

"We will establish medical universities in all divisional headquarters," she said.

The PM said many physicians are now getting opportunities to utilise their skill and efficiency after completing MD degrees on critical care medicine from BSMMU, Dhaka Medical College and Birdem.

Pointing to Bangladesh's graduation to a developing country from the LDC group, Hasina said Bangladesh got the recognition of the UN after 46 years of independence.

It has been possible because of her government's success in implementation of MDGs, attaining capability in healthcare and education, achieving high GDP growth and per capita income, she said.

Hasina stressed the need for maintaining continuation of the success, saying that Bangladesh would never be dependent on others and would go ahead keeping pace with the world.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammed Nasim, State Minister Zahid Maleque, Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Secretary Serajul Huq Khan, Bangladesh Medical Association President Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, BSCCM President Prof UH Shahera Khatun, General Secretary Prof ASM Areef Ahsan and Vice-president Dr Mirza Nazimuddin also spoke on the occasion.