Photo : BSS

By Md Aynal Haque

RAJSHAHI, April 6, 2025 (BSS) - Three times more patients are getting treatment in different hospitals than capacities in the division consisting of eight districts.

Among those, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), the largest health facility in the entire northwest region of the country, has been handling on an average more than three times more patients than its capacity round the year, hospital sources said.

The RMCH, a 1,200-bed hospital, has to accommodate more than 5,000 patients many times although it is suffering manpower deficit for long.

Not only in RMCH, but similar situations have been prevailing in other district-level facilities in the division. Besides, there are 59 Upazila Health Complexes in the division running with shortage of doctors.

According to official sources there are 6,520 beds in government hospitals in the division.

While visiting the RMCH recently this correspondent found many patients were taking treatment on floors and corridors because of bed crises. Patients-pressure remains high in medicine wards frequently.   

Infrastructural developments were done but quality of services has not improved compared to the demands in the 250-bed Chapainawabganj General Hospital.

There is a bed crisis in the hospital. However, the emergency patients are transferred to RMCH for better treatment.

Talking to BSS Superintendent of the hospital Dr Masud Parvej said around 2,000 patients take treatment outdoors daily on an average. Surgery in orthopaedics, eye, nose, ear and throat in addition to other major operations are being carried out in the facility on regular basis.

He said there are 10-beds in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and dialysis units here but there are acute crises of manpower and instruments. "We have infrastructural facilities but not manpower and instruments. We are also facing bed crisis as well," he said.

Despite this, they are working relentlessly to provide better services, he added.

In reality, there are amenities, including food, logistic support and manpower for 100 patients, in the 250-bed Naogaon General Hospital at present. There is also a 30 percent manpower shortage of the 100-bed facilities.

Hospital Superintendent Dr. Zahid Nazrul said the 250-bed district level health facility was launched in 2021 and patient admission rate was hundred percent. On an average, more than 1,000 patients take services outdoors daily. The patients are getting 32 types of medicines free of cost, he added.

Dr. Zahid, however, said the hospital did not get manpower for 250-beds as yet. Currently, there are less than 40 percent doctors against the existing posts.   

Despite the limitations, he said they are providing health services and eighty percent of the admitted patients are going back home after recovery. He also said many of the major surgery remained halted due to shortage of doctors.

In the division, there are 94-beds in Intensive Care Units (ICU) at different tertiary and secondary hospitals.

Apart from RMCH and Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital (SZMC), Bogura at Bogura, 44 ICU-beds remained non-functional due to a shortage of manpower.

For this, the RMCH and SZMCH have been facing a problem to manage the additional patients. The emergency patients are being deprived from services failing to get serial in time.

Divisional Director of Health Dr. Habibur Rahman said there are crisis of beds and manpower in all hospitals. "We have informed the higher authorities and are hoping to resolve the problems soon," he added.