A combo photo of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease Hospital surgeon Sabrina Sharmin Hossain and Directorate General of Health Services director general Abul Kalam Azad

The health ministry on Sunday issued a show-cause letter to the Directorate General of Health Services director general Abul Kalam Azad over the Regent Hospital scam.

In another development, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease Hospital surgeon Sabrina Sharmin Hossain was suspended by the health ministry as she was involved with private JKG Healthcare despite being on a government payroll.

In a letter signed by deputy secretary Sharmin Akter Jahan, the ministry asked DGHS director general Azad to explain how the agreement with the Regent Hospital was signed.

The ministry said that any agreement to treat and test COVID-19 patients could be signed with any hospital only upon a physical inspection of the hospital, scrutinising its permission for running hospital and inspection of the equipment, manpower and lab facilities.

‘Before signing the agreement with the Regent Hospital which things were considered and if it was followed up that the hospital was maintaining the agreement rules,’ the letter asked.

It further asked the DG to explain the recent statement of DGHS which stated that the ‘agreement was signed upon directives from the high-ups of the health ministry.’

The DGHS in a statement on Saturday said that the agreement with the Regent Hospital was signed upon directives from the high-ups of the health ministry.

The statement also claimed that the DG of the DGHS did not know Regent Hospital chairman Md Sahed before signing the agreement.

Rapid Action Battalion on July 7 and 8 sealed off the headquarters of Regent groups and its two hospitals after it was found that they were operating without a valid licence, selling fake COVID-19 certificate and taking huge money for supposedly free COVID-19 tests.

RAB unearthed the scandal after police on June 24 arrested Ariful Chowdhury, also the JKG Healthcare CEO, and five others for their alleged involvement in the COVID-19 testing scam.

Health ministry in a notice on Sunday said Sabrina has been suspended with service benefit from Sunday.

Sabrina was arrested on Sunday by police after her link was found in JKG Healthcare’s fake Covid-19 certificate business.

She was the chairman of JKG despite being a doctor of the NICVD.