National Desk :
Dialysis services at Feni General Hospital, a 250-bed facility, have been suspended for 21 days following recent flooding that inundated the ground floor, causing serious challenges for kidney patients who depend on these treatments.
While most hospital services have resumed as the floodwaters receded, the hemodialysis unit remains non-operational, leaving patients without access to essential care. Currently, only four private clinics in the city are offering dialysis, but their fees are substantially higher than those at the government hospital.
This has put immense pressure on patients from low-income backgrounds who rely on the hospital for affordable dialysis. Tragically, two patients have reportedly died due to the unavailability of these services.
During a visit to the hospital on September 9, the hemodialysis unit was still closed, forcing several patients to leave without receiving treatment.
Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr. Asif Iqbal was unable to provide a timeline for reopening, noting that the motor and some equipment are being repaired in Dhaka.
Mostafizur Rahman, a patient, pointed out that private clinics are charging 5-6 times more than the hospital. Many patients who had prepaid Tk 22,000 for six months of treatment at the hospital are now unable to access the services they paid for.
Fahima Akter Bithi, whose husband suffers from kidney failure, shared that they cannot afford the high costs of private dialysis. Her husband had been receiving treatment at Feni General Hospital, but services were halted after the flood.
Feni General Hospital is a vital healthcare resource for residents of six upazilas in Feni district and surrounding areas, serving 210 kidney patients with approximately 500 more on the waiting list. The situation is critical, as each patient’s death opens up a slot in the dialysis queue.
Dr. Joydeb Saha, Head of the Kidney Dialysis Department, stressed that kidney patients require dialysis twice a week, and missing treatments can lead to severe health complications or even death.
Dr. Md. Asif Iqbal explained that the ground floor was completely submerged, limiting operations to the second floor. The scanning and dialysis departments, which are located on the ground floor, remain closed, although there is hope that all services will be restored soon.
Attempts to contact the hospital’s supervisor, Abul Khayer Miah, were unsuccessful. The Deputy Commissioner, Md. Shahina Akhter, has been made aware of the situation. The hospital’s dialysis unit, established in February 2020 with six beds and later expanded to ten, previously provided dialysis for 30 patients daily across three shifts, supported by a team of nine nurses and additional medical staff.