Civil society representatives, lawyers and public health experts have called for the proposed Health Protection Act to safeguard patients’ rights, ensure independent investigations into medical negligence complaints and protect doctors and healthcare workers while on duty.
They stressed the need to balance patient rights with healthcare providers’ safety and establish transparent, independent and accessible mechanisms to investigate and resolve complaints of medical negligence, malpractice and violations of patients’ rights.
The speakers made the recommendations at an online webinar titled “Health Protection Act: Citizens’ Expectations”, organised by the Center for Law and Policy Affairs (CLPA) yesterday afternoon. Representatives of the Public Health Lawyers Network and Citizen Network-CNET also attended.
They said the law must guarantee every citizen’s right to quality, non-discriminatory healthcare, including access to information about their condition and treatment, informed consent, confidentiality of personal information and respectful treatment.
The speakers also called for an effective framework to receive, investigate, assess and resolve complaints of medical negligence and irregularities. They stressed the need for impartial assessments to distinguish between adverse treatment outcomes, unavoidable complications and actual negligence.
The mechanism should ensure appropriate action based on the nature of complaints and available evidence, while guaranteeing justice and remedies for affected patients and their families.
They also urged clear legal provisions to protect doctors and healthcare workers from physical attacks, threats and harassment, and to safeguard their professional dignity while working under heavy patient loads, staff shortages and inadequate infrastructure. However, such protections must not obstruct investigations into medical negligence or violations of patients’ rights, they said.
Public health expert Mohammad Mushtaque Hossain said essential healthcare must be available close to people’s homes, and primary healthcare should be established as a fundamental right. He emphasised that safeguarding patients’ rights is contingent upon enacting fundamental reforms within the healthcare system.
Advocate Momtaz Mou stressed the need to include palliative care in the law, while Salma Mahbub, executive director of B-Scan, highlighted the importance of safeguarding the healthcare rights of persons with disabilities.
Farida Akhter, convener of Shastho Andolon and a former adviser, called for an integrated healthcare system under the One Health approach and stronger coordination between the ministries of agriculture and health. Advocate Shahnawaz Patwary urged the inclusion of mental healthcare in the proposed law.
Barrister Nishat Mahbub, member secretary of the Public Health Lawyers Network, said the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division had recognised health as part of the right to life under the Constitution. The state must therefore uphold the right to health through its policies and programmes, she said.
Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam, secretary of CLPA, presented the keynote paper at the webinar. AKM Maksud, president of Grambangla Unnayan Committee and a member of Citizen Network-CNET, chaired the event, which was moderated by Kamrunnesa Munna, senior policy analyst at CLPA.
About The Author
