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.