RMCH shuts Covid unit over lack of patients

Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) has suspended its Corona Unit as it lacked patients.

"We have no reason to run it (the unit) any more as patients barely come," the hospital director Brig Gen Shamim Yazdani told The Daily Star today (May 14, 2022).

From now on, the patients infected with Covid-19 would be sent to the Infectious Disease Hospital instead of the corona unit from now, he told our Rajshahi staff correspondent.

According to hospital officials, although there was no Covid patients, government money was being spent for maintaining the corona unit as well as for paying off additional allowances on doctors and staffers.

While there was crisis of staffers at other units, the staffers of the corona unit were enjoying alternate 15-days off for their quarantine due to the unit duty, they said.

The corona unit was opened in May, 2020 following outbreak of the pandemic.

RMCH hired two more private hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients as their numbers rose up.

To manage covid-19 patients, the government last year decided to revive Rajshahi Sadar Hospital which has been shut for three decades.

The number of Covid-19 patients started reducing from beginning this year.

Last month, only few patients went to the hospital for treatment.

And this month, no patients turned out so far.

"We still have all the facilities developed in the hospital for treating covid-19 patients. If situation demands, we can reopen everything," the hospital director said adding, "Until it is necessary, there is no reason to continue operation of the unit."