Balaganj residents deprived as health facility remains shut
S A Shofiee, Sylhet :
The first seven-storey, attractive health complex building at the upazila level has been built in Balaganj upazila of Sylhet. With the construction of this building, it was announced that the 31-bed Upazila Health Complex will be upgraded to 50 beds.
But even though the construction of the seven-storey building has been completed, the people of this region are being deprived of health services as permission has not been given to start activities in the building. According to relevant sources, the Health Engineering Department (HED) approved the work order on March 20, 2019 at a cost of about 15 crore taka.
After the piling work of the building started on April 3 of that year, the foundation stone of the building was officially laid on December 5. The work period was 18 months. But even after 4 or 4 and a half years of the completion of the construction work, health services have not started in this seven-storey building.
The first floor of the building is for outdoor use, the second floor for consultants, the third floor for administrative offices, the fourth floor for stores and family planning departments, the fifth and sixth floors for operation theaters (OT), and the seventh floor for men and women.
The hospital authorities said that it is not possible to move up and down in the new building without an elevator. After the elevator was introduced, it suddenly broke down. There is no parking facility in front of the building.
Meanwhile, the old building of the Upazila Health Complex, built in 1968 when it was established, has been dilapidated for a long time. Due to various problems in the building and manpower shortage, proper health services are being disrupted. The upazila residents had been demanding that the hospital be upgraded from 31 beds to 50 beds by constructing a new building.
The demand for improving the quality of health services has finally been implemented, but since the activities in the new building have not started, patients have been forced to receive treatment in the wards of the dilapidated old building or on the floor of the ward.
Local beneficiaries say that due to various problems in the hospital building, manpower shortage and lack of necessary equipment, we have been deprived of the desired healthcare for so long. We have to run to Sylhet city for minor ailments. The hospital has been upgraded to 50 beds with the construction of the newly built seven-storey state-of-the-art building, which is certainly a matter of joy. Our expectation was that the people of this region would receive health services as per their needs after the completion of the new building. But we are very disappointed to be deprived of services as the permission to start the new building has not been granted after a long delay.
Balaganj Upazila Health Officer Dr. Hepi Das said, health services are being provided with great difficulty in the old building of the hospital. There is a manpower shortage. The newly built building has become the first seven-storey building at the upazila level in the country. Now just waiting for permission.
Talking about this, Sylhet Civil Surgeon Dr. Md. Nasir Uddin said that due to manpower shortage, it is not possible to start the activities in full swing in the seven-storey building. The Ministry of Health has been informed about this.
The expectations of the locals are that the manpower will be increased in the new building and state-of-the-art equipment will be introduced. If each closed department of the hospital is opened, the quality of health services will increase. Marginal people will easily get high-quality health services.