PM Tarique Rahman to open 500-bed Neurosciences Hospital extension today

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to inaugurate a new 500-bed extension at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital in Dhaka on Saturday, significantly expanding the country’s capacity to provide specialised neurological care.

The inauguration is expected to take place at 10am. Hospital officials said construction of the new facility has been completed, with most of the medical equipment already installed. Once operational, the extension will raise the hospital’s total capacity to 1,000 beds, making it the country’s largest specialised centre for neurological treatment.

The 15-storey building has three basement levels designated for parking and service facilities, while the upper 12 floors house wards, operating theatres and diagnostic units. The facility includes 40 ICU beds, 24 post-operative beds and 112 cabins.

The new building is also equipped with 20 HDU beds and 62 ventilators. A catheterisation laboratory, two MRI machines and two CT scanners have been installed, alongside a solid-waste disposal system and a dedicated oxygen plant.

A patient-transfer facility using escalators from the first to the third floor has also been incorporated, a feature described by officials as the first of its kind in a government hospital in Bangladesh.

Stroke patients account for the largest share of those seeking treatment at the institute, followed by patients suffering brain and spinal injuries from accidents. The hospital also treats patients with Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Guillain-Barré syndrome, epilepsy, hydrocephalus and other neurological disorders.

National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital Director Prof Dr Mohammad Nuruzzaman Khan said the new facility would add 500 beds to the hospital and significantly expand its specialised services.

The hospital's foundation stone was laid in Agargaon in 2006 by then-prime minister Khaleda Zia. The 10-storey main hospital building was established in 2012 following efforts by neurologists Prof Dr Kazi Deen Mohammad and Prof Dr Badrul Alam, alongside contributions from numerous physicians and institutions.