Bangladesh armed forces to get Indian medical aid

Kochi: The Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital) is going to provide state-of-the-art specialty medical care to members of Bangladesh Armed Forces (BAF), including retired personnel, and their family members.

A wide-ranging agreement for collaboration in patient care, medical education, research and training, and exchange of healthcare professionals was signed by Major General SM Motahar Hossain, Director General of Medical Services (DGMS), Bangladesh Armed Forces, and Dr Prem Nair, Medical Director, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi.

Explaining how the collaboration will work, Dr Prem Nair of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, said: “This is a remarkable instance of international cooperation in South Asia. It will not only help heal bodies, but also strengthen bonds between the two great peoples who share common heritage and culture. We have signed a comprehensive agreement for providing healthcare services to the members of Bangladesh Armed Forces. We will admit patients at Amrita Hospital for treatment upon referral from BAF. The collaboration also involves long- and short-term training of doctors, nurses and paramedics from BAF at our hospital. In addition, we will collaborate in medical research initiatives and joint projects of mutual interest in both the countries.”

Added Major General SM Motahar Hossain of Bangladesh Armed Forces: “This collaboration will bring the two nations closer, even as members of Bangladesh Armed Forces benefit from the state-of-the-art medical expertise and infrastructure available at Amrita Hospital. We are also going to set up telemedicine and tele-radiology facilities at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka which will connect doctors at Amrita Hospital to our patients in Bangladesh for consultation. This collaboration will help save many lives as we will be referring patients for complex surgeries and medical procedures.”

The agreement was signed in the presence of Dr Prem Nair of Amrita Hospital and Brig. Gen. Abdul Hamid, Defence Adviser with Bangladesh High Commission.

Amrita Hospital, a super-specialty centre of excellence, receives large number of patients from South Asia, Middle East, and Central Africa because of high quality and affordable cost of treatment. In October 2016, it was also appointed as a referral hospital by the Government of Madagascar for advanced treatment and surgeries.