Students Demand Separate Directorate for Medical Technologists and Pharmacists to Improve Healthcare Standards

In a bid to improve the quality of healthcare, students studying medical technology and pharmacy have issued a 7-day ultimatum, demanding the establishment of a separate "Directorate of Medical Technology and Pharmacy." This demand, along with five other key points, aims at enhancing the professional skills, ensuring quality control, and establishing discipline for medical technologists and pharmacists.

The demands were presented in a press release issued on Friday, October 11, by the Central Committee of the Anti-Discrimination Medical Technology and Pharmacy Students’ Struggle Council.

According to the press release, despite being essential contributors to healthcare—working alongside doctors and nurses—medical technologists and pharmacists face significant discrimination in recruitment, grading, and opportunities for higher education compared to diploma courses under the Ministry of Education. The four-year diploma courses in pharmacy and medical technology, which fall under the Ministry of Health, are treated differently, causing disparities in career development.

The statement further explained that medical technologists are crucial for disease diagnosis, as they provide accurate diagnostic results for doctors, who then prescribe treatment accordingly. Diploma-holding pharmacists ensure proper distribution of these medicines and prevent antibiotic resistance and misuse of drugs. Despite the importance of these two professions, regular recruitment has not taken place, depriving many people of essential healthcare services at the public level.

The statement also highlighted recent actions by the Ministry of Public Administration that overlooked pharmacists and medical technologists in the standard setup of government hospitals. Although the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines recommend recruiting five medical technologists for every doctor, this has been ignored, and a similar discriminatory approach has been taken toward pharmacists.

Furthermore, the rising cost of medicines has increased the pressure on outpatient departments in government hospitals, where pharmacists are essential for managing services such as NCD (Non-Communicable Diseases) corners and eye-care units. Yet, despite the need, thousands of diploma-holding pharmacists remain unemployed, as the government has not expanded recruitment for these positions.

The six-point demands are as follows:

1. Establish an independent "Directorate of Medical Technology and Pharmacy" to enhance the skills, ensure quality control, and establish discipline among medical technologists and pharmacists.
2. Upgrade the country's Institutes of Health Technology (IHT) to Medical Technology Colleges and establish an independent Medical Science and Technology University centered around the IHT in Dhaka. Additionally, appoint qualified medical technologists and pharmacists as lecturers and professors across all educational institutions.
3. Implement the 10th grade pay scale (equivalent to second-class rank) for medical technologists and pharmacists and create 50,000 new positions for immediate recruitment.
4. Create 9th grade positions for graduate medical technologists and include these roles in the standard setup and recruitment process.
5. Form a Medical Technology Council and develop private sector service policies for medical technologists and pharmacists.
6. Provide training allowances and scholarships for students enrolled in BSc and MSc courses, and take steps to improve education by introducing BSc programs across all faculties.

The students emphasize that these measures are crucial to ensuring better healthcare services and professional development for medical technologists and pharmacists in Bangladesh.