The hidden cost of healthcare

The Daily Star
Nov 02, 2024

The hidden cost of healthcare


After undergoing treatment at two hospitals in Chattogram and Khulna following a road accident, Jahangir Alam came to Dhaka to save his right leg from amputation. With treatment in the capital city, he has been able to do so.

However, neither the medical costs nor the recovery seems easy so far, and nothing guarantees things will return to how they were before August 5 -- the day a brick-laden truck ran over Alam in Chattogram.

Alam, a 38-year-old garment worker at Chattogram EPZ, was rushed to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital. But prolonged treatment with relatives attending him there was not feasible for the man from Bagerhat. Therefore, he was shifted to Khulna Medical College Hospital, which was comparatively closer to his village home, but his condition worsened.