Sylhet District Hospital set to start operation with 'specialised' status

SYLHET, June 13: After wasting three years for seemingly no valid reasons, the 250-bed Sylhet

District Hospital is now all prepared to start functioning as a healthcare facility with 'specialised' status.

The government hospital was built by demolishing the renowned Abu Sina Hostel with its

aesthetic architectural style years ago amid agitation by environmental groups.

Ignoring objections of the civil society, local leaders of the then ruling party and other responsible officials including the then foreign minister forcibly built the hospital in the city at a cost of about Tk850 million.

Although the construction work was completed in 2023, the hospital could not start functioning until now as the complex has been left almost abandoned for reasons.

Finally, an initiative would now be taken, but it would take some time, an official at the health department said on Friday.

Commerce, Industry, Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, also a lawmaker from Sylhet Sadar, promising start of the hospital's operation weeks ago said, "The 250-bed hospital will be put into fucntioning although it had been in utter negligence of the authorities as none was ready to receive it from the contractor in the last three years."

However, the matter was brought to the notice of the Prime Minister during his maiden Sylhet visit on 2 May this year. By now, the government has decided to elevate it to the status of a 'specialised hospital' under the Sylhet medical university.

The Commerce Minister said, "Although the hospital was built at a cost of crores of taka, no one knows why it was built." "This establishment was built without consulting any health-related authority," he added.

The then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

inaugurated the construction of the district hospital on 6.98 acres of land

in January 2019. The Public Works Department assigned the work of building the infrastructure of the hospital to the contractor firm Padma Association and Engineering Limited. They started work in January 2020.

During a visit to the site, it was seen that construction of the building has been completed. However, most of the hospital equipment has been brought to the building, though the boundary wall has yet to be erected.

Although construction of the hospital building has been completed, nobody could say whether the Osmani Medical College Hospital,

Civil Surgeon's Office or the Directorate General of Health Services would manage it.

Since the responsible authority for

receiving the hospital had not been found, the Public Works Department (PWD) sent letters to the Ministry of Health to know whom it was to be made over.

PWD officials said that construction work has been completed up to the eighth floor of the 15-storey hospital building. Painting, electrical and tiles work and glass, doors, and windows fitting have also been completed. There is a car parking in the basement of the hospital building; ticket counter, waiting room on the first floor; outdoor, report delivery and consultant chamber on the second floor; diagnostics on the third floor; cardiac and general OT, ICCU, CCU on the fourth floor. The fifth floor houses the Gynecology Department, Ophthalmology,

Orthopedics and ENT Departments, and the sixth, seventh and eighth floors house wards and cabins. Among them, there are 19 ICU beds, nine CCU beds and 40 cabins.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, during his visit to Sylhet on May 2, also assured the district people of starting operation of the hospital as soon as possible. Accordingly steps are being taken.

Contacted,

Nure Alam Shamim, assistant director at the Divisional Health Director's office, told this correspondent yesterday that the Sylhet medical university would now operate the healthcare facility as a specialised hospital. They would soon start work in this regard.

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