Plan to double beds at upazila hospitals, introduce ICUs: Health Minister

The government has taken a plan to upgrade 50-bed hospitals in 492 upazilas of the country to 101 beds. At the same time, initiatives have been taken to launch specialized ICU facilities in upazila-level hospitals, said Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain.

He gave this information while highlighting various ongoing health sector programs of the government at his office on Wednesday (June 3).

The Health Minister said that although the demand for healthcare at the upazila level is increasing day by day, the infrastructure and number of beds in many hospitals are not adequate compared to that demand. In this reality, a decision has been taken to increase the capacity of upazila hospitals across the country.

He said that the implementation of the project has started under the direction of the Prime Minister. The Public Works Department is already making necessary preparations. The plan also includes expansion of hospital buildings, construction of new wards, addition of modern medical equipment and increase in manpower.

The Health Minister said that if ICU facilities are introduced in upazila hospitals, the need to travel to district cities or the capital for treatment of serious patients will be reduced. This will allow patients to receive better medical services in their own areas and reduce the pressure on large hospitals.

He also announced new initiatives to expand women and child health services. The Minister said that five specialized hospitals for women and five for children will be built in different parts of the country with joint cooperation between China and Bangladesh. These hospitals will ensure maternal health, newborn care, treatment of complex diseases of children and specialist healthcare.

In addition, there are plans to inaugurate 200-bed specialized hospitals for children in five divisional cities of the country by December, he said.

The Health Minister also said that the Prime Minister will inaugurate the new building of the Neuroscience Hospital on August 15.

In response to a question about the death of six newborns at Ad-Din Hospital during the briefing, he said that no one will be spared in this incident. However, since the parents did not consent to the postmortem, the accused party may get some benefits in the investigation and trial process.

He said that the Ministry of Health is working with full preparations to deal with the measles and dengue situation in the country.