5 specialised children’s hospitals to open

The government is set to open five 200-bed specialised children’s hospitals in Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Cumilla within the next six months, aiming to expand child healthcare services across the country.

All necessary preparations are in place to open the hospitals in Barishal and Khulna in early August, concerned authority said.

Each hospital will have intensive care unit (ICU) facilities, central air-conditioning systems and space for future expansion. Large ICU areas will also be kept for increasing capacity when needed.

The tender process for purchasing furniture and medical equipment for the hospitals has already been completed. The hospitals are scheduled to begin operations within the next six months.

To run the hospitals fully, each facility will require 1,475 staff members. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has already directed the Ministry of Public Administration to ensure the recruitment of the required workforce.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Sakhawat Hossain has already visited the hospital buildings in Khulna, Barishal and Cumilla.

During a visit to the Barishal Children’s Hospital, the minister announced that the hospital would be opened in early August.

He said all necessary equipment for the 200-bed hospital, including neonatal ventilators, CT scan machines, X-ray machines, portable X-ray units, multi-parameter or cardiac monitors and phototherapy machines, will be delivered by July.

“The hospital will be inaugurated on August 1,” he said.
At an emergency meeting with the Ministry of Health on May 10, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed the authorities to quickly open six unused children’s hospitals in six divisions of the country.

He also instructed senior officials of the ministry to visit the hospitals and submit reports by June 2. Efforts to make the hospitals operational accelerated following the directive.

Speaking about the initiative, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain said a 200-bed children’s hospital would be opened in each of the five divisions within the next six months under the Prime Minister’s instructions.

He said all the hospitals would be air-conditioned and equipped with ICU facilities.
The minister said the tender process for furniture and equipment procurement has already been completed and that each hospital will require 1,475 personnel. The Prime Minister has already instructed the Public Administration Minister to allocate the necessary manpower, he added.

He said every hospital will have an ICU, central air-conditioning and space to increase bed capacity in the future.

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Affairs Dr SM Ziauddin Haider also visited the 200-bed Barishal Children’s Hospital.

He said the hospital would start operations in August, with emergency services being launched in the first phase.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, work is also progressing rapidly to open the Khulna Divisional Children’s Hospital.

During a visit to the under-construction hospital on May 20, the health minister reviewed the progress and expressed hope that it would become operational within six months.

Khulna Divisional Health Office Acting Director Dr Md Mujibur Rahman said officials from the Public Works Department and the Civil Surgeon’s Office had inspected the hospital.

“The ministry is collecting information from us about the new children’s hospital. We will take necessary steps according to future instructions,” he said.

On May 25, the minister visited the under-construction children’s hospital at Beltali in Sadar South upazila of Cumilla and announced that it would also be opened within six months.

The long-awaited Rangpur Children’s Hospital is also set to begin operations after remaining unused for six years despite the completion of construction.

The hospital is being prepared for opening following the Prime Minister’s directive. Director General of the Directorate General of Medical Education Dr Nazmul Hossain has already inspected its infrastructure.

He said there are several other health facilities that have remained unused and that the Prime Minister has instructed the Health Ministry to make them operational as well.

The Cumilla Children’s Hospital is also set to open following the Prime Minister’s directive.
After an emergency meeting with the Health Secretary, Cumilla Medical College Hospital Acting Director Dr Md Shahjahan submitted manpower and equipment requirements to the relevant authorities for the hospital’s operation.

The government has also taken steps to open the Rajshahi Children’s Hospital within the next three months.

Health Services Division Secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury and Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services Professor Dr Prabhat Chandra Biswas have already visited the hospital and provided necessary instructions.

The Health Services Division Secretary said outdoor services would be launched in the first phase, while other services would be introduced gradually in the next fiscal year.