Government Building Referral Network at Upazila and District Levels to Detect Women's Complex Diseases Early

The government is strengthening healthcare at the upazila and district levels and building an effective referral network so that women's complex and long-term health problems can be identified quickly and proper treatment ensured. State Minister for Health Dr M A Muhith outlined the plan on Friday (30 October).

Speaking as chief guest at the third international scientific conference of the Endometriosis-Adenomyosis Society of Bangladesh at a hotel in the capital, the state minister said that, to this end, plans have been taken to recruit women health workers at the field level, train doctors and increase the capacity of local hospitals.

The state minister said lakhs of women in the country suffer from long-term and progressively complicated diseases such as endometriosis. But because of social taboo, lack of awareness and inadequate knowledge about the disease, many cannot get it detected in time. As a result, treatment is delayed and complications keep growing.

He said the present government, in line with its election pledge, is prioritising structural reform of the health sector, disease prevention and raising health awareness. Alongside treatment of complex diseases, importance is being given to building a system that detects disease at the primary stage.

Dr M A Muhith said the government has planned to recruit one lakh new health workers towards this goal. At least 50,000 of them will be women health workers. He called on those concerned to prepare simple and effective training modules for these workers.

The state minister said awareness among women can be raised through women health workers at the field level. At the same time, symptoms can be identified at the primary stage and patients referred to upazila, district or specialised hospitals as needed. This way patients will receive the right treatment quickly.

Pointing to the excessive pressure of patients on large hospitals, he said Dhaka's big hospitals are treating several times more patients than their number of beds. One of the main reasons is the absence of an effective referral network. Many patients come straight to the big hospitals even when treatment is available at the local level.

Stressing the need to raise the capacity of upazila and district hospitals, the state minister said that if skilled manpower, trained doctors and necessary medical equipment are ensured at these hospitals, about 80 percent of people will be able to receive proper treatment in their own areas. That is why the government is working to make local and district-level hospitals modern and effective.

Highlighting the need for medical research, Dr M A Muhith said that although the country has skilled and trained doctors, expected progress in international-standard research and publication is not happening because of workload and lack of necessary resources. Government support is needed especially to draw young doctors into research. He also assured that all kinds of state support would be given if specific and quality research proposals are submitted.

On prevention and treatment of women's cancers, the state minister said about five thousand women die of cervical cancer in Bangladesh every year. To reduce this death rate, detection at the primary stage and expanded treatment opportunities are essential. For this, the government plans to expand cancer treatment services to every divisional level of the country.

Eminent doctors, researchers and people associated with the health sector were present at the conference, organised with the cooperation of the Asian Society of Endometriosis and Adenomyosis.