Govt vows safety for healthcare workers: Home Adviser

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Tuesday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety and security of healthcare professionals and others in the sector.

Addressing the closing session of the two-day Civil Surgeon Conference 2025 at the Shaheed Abu Sayed International Convention Centre in Dhaka, he expressed concern over recent attacks on hospitals and medical personnel. He said the government was working in coordination with civil surgeon offices and law enforcement to address the issue.

“You are society’s talented individuals and a beacon of hope for people in distress,” he told the civil surgeons.

The adviser put forward several proposals, including:

• Bringing post-mortem services to the police station level

• Assigning female doctors for female post-mortems and rape examinations, or female nurses with male doctors' signatures when unavailable

• Shutting down under-resourced private medical colleges lacking qualified faculty

• Forming an accreditation council to improve medical college standards

• Splitting internship periods equally between urban and rural settings and increasing allowances for village placements

If implemented, he said, these steps would ensure faster service delivery and reduce patient suffering.

Highlighting the importance of mental healthcare and anti-drug efforts, he urged civil surgeons to work with police and the Department of Narcotics Control in counselling and rehabilitation of drug addicts.

On alleged negligence by physicians, he expressed hope that doctors would disprove such claims through dedication to duty.

Responding to participants’ demands, the adviser pledged support for:

• Recognising KPIs for district hospitals

• Increasing police patrols in hospital areas

• Upgrading post-mortem centres

• Providing bodyguards for civil surgeons

Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Md Sayedur Rahman, Cabinet Secretary Dr Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Health Services Secretary Md Saidur Rahman, and senior health officials also spoke at the event.