Well-equipped, but not fully functional

At first glance, you would mistake it for a privately-run hospital.

The clean and calm ambience at the capital's Kurmitola General Hospital, a government health service provider, is well equipped to provide treatment.

However, the 11-storey hospital, consisting of 500 beds and modern equipment, has been facing trouble ever since it was launched three years ago, thanks to insufficient recruitment of doctors, nurses and other staffs.

“Only 40 percent of the hospital is operational now. We cannot use the intensive care unit and the coronary care unit which together has 53 beds. We cannot run the 52 cabins, all because of lack of manpower,” said Brig Gen Saidur Rahman, director of the hospital.

He added the hospital has a unit to treat patients detected with Ebola virus, the first and so far only of its kind in the country.

The unit has been functional as doctors have so far treated seven people with Ebola syndrome. None, however, was identified with the disease later.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the hospital in 2012 with the aim of providing health services to the people in the northern part of the city, including Uttara, Savar and Gazipur's Tongi. Another prime goal was to provide teaching and training facilities to students and interns of the adjacent Armed Forces Medical College, hospital sources said.

During a recent visit to the hospital, these correspondents found an almost empty reception area around 8:00 in the evening. The male ward on the fifth floor was comparatively calm with a small number of patients and attendants.

According to the authorities, 260 patients are admitted at the hospital at present. There are eight different units -- medicine, gynaecology, ENT, burn, child, surgery, orthopaedics, dental and cardiology.

The hospital authorities claimed they provide treatment to around 2,000 patients at the outpatient department (OPD) each day.

However, after talking with staffs in different departments and some patients as well, it was learnt that not enough people were aware about the location of a public hospital in a place like this and also about the fact that it provides treatment like all the other public hospitals at a small cost.

“The place where the hospital is located is a matter here,” said Rafiqul Islam, whose relative was taking treatment here on Tuesday.

Many people mistook it for an army-run hospital since it is located in the cantonment area. Another reason is that it stands by a busy road with no link road to the hospital, he said.  

Director Saidur corroborated that lack of publicity is one of the reasons why it failed to get people's attention.

Ward Master Naharul Islam, also a warrant officer of Bangladesh Army, said, "A patient gets all the facilities at the hospital, including meals and medicines, at an admission fee of Tk 15.

He added the hospital was in need of around 100 more doctors and nurses and around 400 more staffs.

Two operation theatres including one at the emergency unit were out of service due to lack of doctors and staffs, Naharul said, adding the blood bank was also out of operation due to similar reasons.

The hospital has no mortuary, which is another shortcoming.

Mohammad Alam, a small trader residing in the city's Kalshi area, told The Daily Star that he was very happy with the way doctors here treated his relative who was suffering from kidney ailments.

“We are pleased the way doctors and staffs provide treatment here. There is no hassle, nor any broker and we are getting uninterrupted treatment,” he said.

Nazmul, a patient admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, said it took his relatives barely 20 minutes to get him admitted -- from buying ticket to doctors' appointment to finally getting a bed on the hospital's fifth floor.

Ershad, another patient from the city's Mohammadpur, said the food they are provided is very good.

"I was given six pieces of bread, an egg and a banana at breakfast; rice, fish, vegetables and daal during lunch; and chicken, vegetables and daal for dinner," he said.

Reshad, Ershad's brother, said, “There are many hospitals near Mohammadpur, but I brought my brother here as one of my relatives said it was comparatively new with better treatment facilities.”