KUSHTIA, Jan 8: Around 300 illegal private clinics and diagnostic centres, which have no licence, are doing brisk business here, depriving the government of a huge amount of revenue every year.
These illegal centres are also cheating patients in the name of providing healthcare as they do not have necessary doctors, nurses and medical equipment.
Local people alleged that sometimes patients die in the clinics due to wrong treatment.
Dr Monir, owner of Sono Hospital in Kushtia Sadar upazila, said, "There are about 300 private clinics and diagnostic centres in the district, but most of these do not have valid licence from the concerned authority. As a result, the government is being deprived of huge amount of revenue every year."
Resident Medical Officer (RMO) at Kushtia General Hospital Dr Tapash Kumar Paul said, "Due to lack of experienced physicians, patients die in the illegal clinics due to wrong treatment as they do not have experienced doctors."
Civil Surgeon Office sources said that most clinics and diagnostic centres do not have any valid licence from the authorities concerned.
Former RMO of Kumarkali Hospital Dr Akul Uddin said, "Some doctors practise in the unlicensed clinics on contract basis. Almost all the clinics have hung up signboards of the same physicians."
"These clinics have no requisite medical apparatus, nurses and technical staffs. The clinics are not equipped with modern facilities and do not have transport facilities to carry the critically ill patients," he also said.
When contacted, Civil Surgeon Mostafizur Rahman said, "We are against all illegal practice but cannot stop those due to political pressure."