BETAGI, BARGUNA, Aug 13: The patients who are admitted to Betagi Upazila Health Complex, suffer as they are served with stale and rotten food.
According to the menu list, the patients are supposed to get good-quality food items. Virtually, they are given substandard food.
The 50-bed health complex is located in Betagi Pourashava Town. Over 1.5 lakh people of one first category municipality and of seven unions are depended on this hospital. Betagi Upazila is 55 kilometres (km) away from Barishal Divisional Sadar and 37 km away from Barguna.
It is not possible for poor patients of village to take treatment by going there. Destitute, low and middle-income people are depended on the upazila health complex.
In a visit to the health complex recently, it was seen, as breakfast, per patient was given one piece boiled egg, one piece baked bread, and fried vegetables. But most of the eggs and bread pieces were stale and rotted.
As luncheon and dinner food, patients are supposed to get rich items like fish, local chicken, vegetable and pulse. But they are given farmed chicken and substandard fish and vegetable.
According to field sources, after serving noon and night food items, the excess items are provided on the following day with newly cooked items.
Some patients complained, foul-smelling stale and rotted food items are also distributed.
Most of the patients were seen bringing in food from hotels.
There is no good hotel nearby the hospital. Relatives of patients were seen taking food from hotels, half-kilometre away from the hospital.
Critically sick patients need all time servicing by their relatives. In this case, their relatives have to leave them lonely for bringing in food from hotels. It increases suffering of their patients.
Patient Niva Rani said, "I fell sick eating hospital food."
On July 28, ex-teacher Bhuban Mohan Biswas of Betagi Government Pilot High School was admitted to Ward No. 7 of the complex.
His relatives said, they got stale and rotted farmed eggs for several days, and these were thrown later on.
According to the hospital sources, Tk 125 is allocated for every patient per day. The breakfast menu included good bread, egg, vegetable, and banana; noon and night menus included rice, pulse, local chicken, fish, and vegetable.
Accountant of the health complex Md Shahjahan Mia said, there is a norm of distributing food according to patients' list.
Some relatives of the patients said, patient are not getting food according to the menu.
Upazila Health & Family Planning Officer Dr. Ten Mong said, tender is invited every year for food distribution, and under the custody of the contractor, food is provided. "But I am trying to provide good food items."
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Surid Salehin said, legal measures will be taken if the matter is found true in inquiry.
