The Rapid Action Battalion on Sunday unearthed yet another unauthorised COVID-19 testing scam involving Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital in Gulshan.
The RAB’s mobile court carried out the drive that started in the afternoon and continued till the report was filed at 10.00pm, leading to the detainment of at least two staff members of the hospital, including Dr Md Abul Hasnat, an assistant director of the hospital.
‘The patients admitted here would be shifted and it would be sealed off. A regular case would be filed against the hospital managing director and directors and others for forgery and other irregularities,’ said the RAB executive magistrate after the raid.
He also added that the hospital’s license had expired a year ago and it had been involved in many other offences.
At least 14 COVID-19 patients were receiving treatment at the private facility and the hospital charged them extra, besides making claims to the patients that they conducted some
tests multiple times without actually carrying out the tests, according to the RAB.
The drive came hard on the heels of Regent Hospital and JKG COVID-19 testing scam uncovered by RAB officials last month and the first week of this month.
RAB executive magistrate Sarwoer Alam led the mobile court that raided Shahabuddin Medical in the afternoon after a tip-off regarding COVID-19 test irregularities.
Sarwoer Alam told reporters that they found that the hospital did not have any PCR lab for testing COVID-19 samples, but they were carrying out tests with rapid testing kits, which did not receive authorisation in the country.
He also said that the hospital issued forged COVID-19 test reports without testing samples of patients and added that the hospital pharmacy was fined Tk 2 lakh for storing unapproved medicines.
When approached, the hospital officials could not give proper explanation about COVID-19 testing and the sources of these kits, said Sarwoer.
Officials first said that they collected these kits from local sources and then also claimed that they imported those kits, he added.
Directorate General of Drug Administration inspector Nahin Al Alam told New Age that they seized 20 rapid testing kits and some COVID-19 test reports, which might have been done by using the unauthorised kits.
Hospital assistant director Md Abul Hasnat told reporters that they were using these kits for the purpose plasma donation and these were collected from Gonoshasthaya Kendra for trial.
Few days earlier, the government had suspended permission to conduct COVID-19 tests in five private hospitals and diagnostic centres, including Shahabuddin Medical, in the country.
The other hospitals are CARe Medical College, Stemz Healthcare, and Thyrocare Diagnostic in Dhaka, and Epic Health Care in Chittagong.
The medical director Monsur Ali admitted to the fact that their permission was suspended. He, however, claimed that the kits in use were imported and he was unaware that they were being used.
RAB officials said that the hospital authorities had been deceiving patients since April in the name of detecting COVID-19 infections using the unauthorised rapid test kits.
RAB-1 operation officer Morshedul Hasan said that the Hospital also provided COVID-19 reports without testing samples.
On July 6, RAB mobile court led by Sarwoer unearthed a huge scam of COVID-19 test report forgery at Regent Hospital’s Uttara branch and then sealed off both Uttara and Mirpur branch of the hospital as well as its headquarters.
A case was filed against Regent Hospital chairman Md Shahed and 16 other officials with Uttara West police station showing eight arrested from the hospital over the issuance of 6,000 fake COVID-19 certificates.
