A shortage of staff and equipment and the lack of an operating theatre are crippling the Haimchar Upazila Health Complex in Chandpur, the only hospital for about 144,000 people in the upazila on the Meghna. Patients who cannot get the care they need there have to travel to the district town, spending more time and money.
At least 600 patients a day use the outpatient department, and 50 to 52 are admitted at any time against 31 beds. According to the health complex, 75 of its 131 approved posts are filled and 56 are vacant. Only 11 of 20 doctors' posts are filled, and none of the three consultant posts. Of 30 nursing posts, 26 are filled.
The biggest gap is the lack of an operating theatre: no operations are performed, only normal deliveries, and mothers who need surgery are sent elsewhere. There is a pathology department, but no X-ray machine, no ultrasound and no technicians, so patients must go outside even for routine tests.
On a recent visit all 31 beds in the single-storey building were full, more patients and relatives were staying on the veranda, and six doctors were seeing patients in one room. "With no bed free, we have to stay on the floor," said Monjur Mia, whose wife Selina Begum is a patient. Another patient, Mohsin Mia, said even minor operations meant a trip to the district town.
Work to upgrade the hospital to 50 beds began in 2019 and was due to finish in December 2020. After six extensions the contractor's agreement was cancelled in December 2024, and a new contractor is reported to have been given the work order in the second week of September this year.
Haimchar upazila health and family planning officer Dr Mahmudunnabi Masum said services will expand once the 50-bed building is finished; because of the delay, patients have to be kept even in doctors' rooms. The report is by Ajker Patrika.
Photo: DelwarHossain / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); the Haimchar Upazila Health Complex
Source: Ajker Patrika
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