Hospital for 350,000 people ‘like a patient itself: Rumeen Farhana

Independent MP RumeenFarhana has described the 50-bed hospital for 350,000 people in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria as 'like a patient in itself' in the National Parliament.

While giving an amendment to the decision to establish a 200-bed hospital in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj in the National Parliament, she highlighted the manpower and infrastructure crisis in the hospital in Sarail upazila on Thursday.

Rumeen Farhana said, there is a hospital for about 350,000 people in 9 unions of Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria district, which has only 50 beds and that hospital is like a patient in itself.

She said, the hospital is facing a shortage of necessary doctors, staff, required medicines and state-of-the-art equipment.

According to the information given by Rumeen Farhana in Parliament, a total of 64 posts 9 doctors including consultants, 6 nurses, 2 medical technologists, 15 field staff and 8 health assistants are vacant in the hospital. He said that the initiative to improve the infrastructure of the hospital is also stuck.

Rumeen Farhana also said that a plan was taken to construct a six-storey building there at a cost of 10 crore taka. But after August 5, the contractor fled, as a result of which medical services have to continue in the old two-storey building.

Rumeen Farhana raised these points during the discussion of the decision to establish a 200-bed hospital in Siddhirganj brought by Narayanganj-3 constituency member Azharul Islam Mannan. During the discussion of the proposal, several other members raised the hospital crisis in their respective areas, demands for increasing beds and establishing a new hospital.

Later, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said in his speech that there is a 100-bed Victoria General Hospital and a 300-bed General Hospital near Siddhirganj; the work of upgrading the 300-bed hospital to 500 beds is almost at the final stage. If necessary, the issue of establishing a new hospital may also be considered in the future. Then the original proposer Azharul Islam Mannan expressed his intention to withdraw his resolution motion.

When the Speaker presented the matter by voice vote, the resolution motion to establish a 200-bed hospital in Siddhirganj was withdrawn with the permission of the parliament.