Patients suffer as hospital building work drags on

Despite being more than a century old, the main building of Barishal General Hospital has remained incomplete for four years, forcing patients to receive treatment in cramped tin-shed rooms.

Due to the lack of adequate space, healthcare services are being severely disrupted, hospital authorities said.

Established in 1912 as Sadar Hospital through a citizens' initiative, the facility is considered the first hospital in the southern region. Until the establishment of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in 1968, it was the prime healthcare hub for the south.

Though Sher-e-Bangla remains the central medical facility today, Barishal General Hospital, being located in the heart of the city, continues to provide vital services, especially for diarrhoea treatment and outdoor patients, locals said.

The hospital originally had three old buildings. One was demolished to make way for a new 10-storey structure. However, as construction drags on, authorities are struggling with a severe space crisis, leaving patients in unhygienic tin-shed wards.

Hospital officials said the facility was once a 20-bed hospital, upgraded to 100 beds in the 1990s -- though manpower was not increased accordingly.

In 2021, a project was taken up to turn it into a 250-bed hospital with a 12-storey building, later revised to 10 storeys.

According to the Public Works Department (PWD), the project began with the construction of a two-storey structure at a cost of Tk 18 crore, with tenders floated on September 16, 2021. Later, another Tk 80 crore proposal was submitted for upward expansion to 10 storeys, which is still awaiting approval.

During a visit, this correspondent found that the underground, ground, and first two floors have largely been completed, with columns, beams, slabs, and peripheral walls in place.

PWD engineers said about 90 percent of work on the two-storey base has been done.

"We have already sent a proposal for upward expansion to 10 storeys. Once approved, the work will proceed, but it's difficult to say when it will be completed. If everything goes smoothly, it will still take two to three more years," said Faisal Alam, executive engineer at PWD.

Meanwhile, the hospital continues to struggle.

Professor Gazi Zahid Hossain, convener of Citizens' Awareness Committee, said, "This hospital is essential for the city's 600,000 residents. Construction delays have left services crippled. We strongly demand urgent completion of the new building."

"Around 300–400 patients visit this hospital daily, and almost double the indoor patients are admitted here but the lack of a proper building makes treatment extremely difficult. Being the only diarrhoea-dedicated hospital in the south, patients are kept in makeshift tin-sheds, which is harmful for their health," said Dr Moloy Krishna Baral, residential medical officer.