Who will take responsibility?
We are dismayed and worried about reports of counterfeit N95 masks—evident by the syntax and spelling errors in the labelling—being given to medical personnel at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU) recently. It is doubtful that one of the world’s biggest suppliers of respiratory protection, 3M, would release products with such errors in the labelling. The doctors who were provided with the masks have given enough reasons to establish the unreliability of the product based on its texture and build quality. What is even more disturbing is that authentic masks were mixed with the fake ones, making them even more difficult to detect. Doctors have already filed complaints addressing the hospital director and concerned authorities.
It is a shame that the hospital authorities tasked with purchasing the masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensuring the quality of the products have failed to do so, especially at a time when a mask can be the difference between getting infected and possibly dying, or being protected. When infection rates are continuing to rise, how can hospital authorities be so careless about monitoring such vital protective gear? From the beginning, we have witnessed the lack of adequate protection for our healthcare workers struggling to cope with the ongoing pandemic in a fragile healthcare system. If such callousness prevails in a reputed institution such as BSMMU, what example will it set for other facilities? We can’t help but question, why weren’t the masks checked prior to their procurement?
Experts have repeatedly urged the government to solve the problems related to the supply of poor-quality protective gear—problems which tend to drive the high infection rates among health workers as well as patients. The hospital authorities must acquire supplies from reliable sources and ensure their quality prior to the distribution. The nation already faces a shortage of healthcare professionals, as many have been martyred in the fight against coronavirus, and such unforgivable oversight will further threaten their safety and wellbeing. Strict laws must be in place to bring those perpetrators who are involved in selling these fake products to book. Even though there appears to be no end to the crisis facing frontline workers, the most important thing to do now is to immediately ensure that all medical staff is equipped with authentic masks and PPEs that will ensure their safety so that they can successfully continue their work to try and save lives.
