New 250-bed Sunamganj Hospital building yet to be of any use

Our Correspondent
SYLHET, Apr 27: The new 250-bed Sunamganj District Hospital building is yet to be of any use though the construction work was completed last year.
Different organisations and citizen forums brought out rallies to press the demand for making the hospital usable at an earliest.
Meanwhile, Sunamganj District Jubo Union activists staged a human chain at the district town last week while citizens from different sections joined the human chain and expressed their concern.
The speakers at the rally held in front of the Sunamganj Sadar Hospital alleged that the patients are deprived of healthcare services at the old district hospital due to the old arrangement and staff shortage. There is no physician at the Emergency Department and there is no ECG machine.
Besides, the X-ray machine has long been lying inoperative. Most of the tests cannot be done at the hospital. Patients are forced to move to the private diagnostic centres even for simple tests. A syndicate has allegedly been active at the government hospital for long.
The ministry of Health and Family Planning started the project with a targeted cost Tk 320 million in 2014. But it was later raised to Tk 400 million while the time was extended till December 2017 from the original deadline June 2016.
Work on the seventh floor on the new building of 250-bed hospital was completed in 2016. Works on the eighth floor was completed after several extensions last year.
Accordingly it was handed over to the district Health Department in June, 2018. But it could not be made into operation although some equipment had been brought there.
The authority failed to do so causing much for the 2.0 million people of the district.
Sources said the health department could not yet manage minimum staff and physicians for the new hospital.
Civil Surgeon of Sunamganj Ashutosh Dass said on Saturday that there has been an acute shortage of manpower. Only 14 physicians against 49 sanctioned posts are working at the district hospital whereas only 85 are in the whole district with 255 posts.
But even then we are trying best for starting the hospital as soon as possible. Things are delayed for the formal inauguration, he added.
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