Fishy Journey of Free Medicines of Jashore General Hospital
250-bedded Jashore General Hospital. Collected Photo.
The outpatient department of Jessore 250-bedded General Hospital is crowded with patients and their relatives. Pushing through the crowd, 70-year-old Abul Hossain emerged, his face drenched in sweat. A resident of the sadar area, he arrived early in the morning to see a doctor. After buying outpatient ticket No. 085143 and consulting a physician in Room 123, he was prescribed four medicines. But from the hospital’s government pharmacy, he received only one strip. He was told to buy the rest from outside.
With heavy voice and seemingly helpless, Abul Hossain said, “We are poor people—who listens to us? When we go to the pharmacy, they don’t want to give us medicines. But when nurses or staff come, they get everything.” Pointing to a nearby nurse, he added angrily, “That nurse came after me and still took many medicines.”
Standing beside him, Aslam Hossain echoed similar frustration. Although five medicines were written on his prescription, he received only one strip of paracetamols from the hospital. “Because of nurses, staff, and their relatives, ordinary people like us don’t get medicines at the government hospitals,” he said.
This is not an isolated experience. Hundreds of patients seeking treatment at Jashore 250-bedded General Hospital face the same reality every day. Although medicines are supposed to be provided free of cost, many patients return home empty-handed with prescriptions in hand.
Hospital records show that in the 2023–24 fiscal year, medicines worth Tk 56,689,912 (Tk 56.68 million) were purchased through Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL), and Tk 18,897,660 (Tk 18.89 million) through local tenders. In 2024–25, allocations increased to Tk 63,375,000 via EDCL and Tk 21,125,000 locally. In the current 2025–26 fiscal year, EDCL has procured medicines worth Tk 60 million, with plans to purchase an additional Tk 20 million locally.
According to hospital authorities, 112 types of medicines are officially supplied. Of these, 82 come from EDCL, while the remaining 30 are procured through tenders funded by the Directorate General of Health Services and local sources. Yet, in practice, only 23 types of medicines are currently being distributed to the hospital.
Every day, about 2,500 to 3,000 patients receive outpatient services at the hospital. For the past month, there has been an acute shortage of medicines. The store lacks stock, and supplies at the government pharmacy are inadequate. Patients allege that medicines run out quickly because a large portion goes to “insiders.”
Unregulated withdrawals of medicines by hospital staff, intern doctors, and nursing students are reportedly common. The hospital currently has more than 400 intern doctors and student nurses. In addition, over 600 doctors, government nurses, employees, and volunteers work there. Many among these roughly 1,000 personnel reportedly take medicines—often without slips or authorization—for themselves and their relatives, leaving little for ordinary patients.
Meanwhile, Dr. Habiba Siddika Foyara, the hospital’s information officer, questioned the quality of government-supplied medicines. Denying claims that nurses and staff take excess medicines, she countered, “There are doubts about the quality of the hospital’s medicines—who would want to take them?”
Hospital Superintendent Dr. Md. Hossain Shafayat rejected the claim that the medicines are substandard but acknowledged the shortage. “Every day, 2,500 to 3,000 patients come to the outpatient department. This year’s medicine budget has already been exhausted. The shortage won’t ease until the new budget arrives,” he said. On the issue of staff taking medicines, he added, “If nurses or staff take medicines without necessity, action will be taken.”
