Panchagarh Correspondent : In Panchagarh, the country’s northernmost district, hundreds of thousands of residents are being deprived of comprehensive health services due to the non-operation of a 250-bed hospital. According to hospital statistics, a modern 100-bed district hospital was built in Panchagarh in 1962.
This hospital remains the only advanced care center for people in all five upazilas of the district. However, the hospital is plagued with numerous problems. There are long-vacant positions: 19 medical officers, senior consultants in gynecology, medicine, orthopedics, and ophthalmology; and junior consultants in gynecology, radiology, ENT, medicine, dental, orthopedics, and physical medicine. In addition, 9 fourth-class posts and 14 second- and third-class posts have been empty for several years.
A nine-storey building was contracted over for the upgrade to 250 beds, but as of 2023 only eight floors have been handed over; the ninth floor is still pending. On average, 300–400 men, 500–700 women, and 350–400 children visit the hospital’s outpatient department daily. Of them, 205–300 patients across departments are admitted each day. Because the hospital only has 100 beds, many patients are placed on floor beds, and a large number — unable to find a place — return home frustrated.
Moreover, due to the 100-bed limit, the hospital does not receive enough allocation for medicines and patients’ food. As a result, more than 100 admitted patients do not receive government-provided meals, and there is a shortage of medicines for proper treatment. The large number of vacant medical officer and consultant positions also forces existing staff to struggle to provide adequate care.
There is an urgent need to open the 250-bed hospital in Panchagarh to improve health services. AKM Fazle Noor Bachchu of the Citizen Forum for Good Governance in Panchagarh said that there is no private hospital or medical college in the district, forcing many patients to travel 150–200 km to Rangpur or Dinajpur for serious treatment. He appealed to the government’s health advisers to fill doctor vacancies and activate the 250-bed hospital.
Dr. Masud Hasan, the acting residential medical officer at Panchagarh Modern District Hospital, said that if the hospital were fully upgraded to 250 beds, staffing and drug allocations could double. The hospital would be able to expand services — including ICU, CCU, and CT-scan machinery — and would no longer face bed shortages.
Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Civil Surgeon of Panchagarh, said that according to the 2022 census, the district’s population is 1,179,843. With a 250-bed hospital, the service quality for this population would improve, and more doctors and medicines could be allocated. He noted that the lack of staff and equipment is preventing the operationalization of the 250-bed hospital, but efforts are being made with local and political support.
