Up until now the much vaunted super-specialised hospital, the first of its kind in the country, has proved to be a super flop. But it could be a different story and make a difference in the country's medical service. Belying the hope of the country's highest authority, it has now lost its way in the wilderness of wrong policies and purposes. The hope raised initially is waning fast. Uncertainty over fulfilling the rosy promises casts a lengthy shadow of gloom and despair.
But the sprawling 13-storey structure on 3.4 acres of land constructed at a cost of Tk 15.61 billion looks impressive enough to provide the country's first ever super-specialised treatment for patients, particularly for those who look for such treatment abroad in the absence of facilities for this. At the time of its inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on September 14, 2022, the high hopes expressed by her and the vision of cutting-edge treatment facilities portrayed by the vice-chancellor of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) gave the impression of a revolution in medical service in the making here soon. The 750-bed hospital, dubbed a state-of-the-art centre for medical care, would be an alternative to the top grade medical facilities, if not the best among the best found abroad.
The introduction of advanced and highly sophisticated medical technologies such as bone marrow transplants, gene therapy, robotic surgery, nano-technology-based services and robot-assisted surgery, as the vice-chancellor declared, could indeed set this hospital apart from the rest of the country. Availability of all such latest services could be labelled as the nation's dream come true on the medical service front. But after eight months of its inauguration, the hospital is yet to arrange for admission of patients with bed or cabin facilities. Some outdoor service mostly in the form of physicians' consultation after their regular hospital hours is available with little or no diagnostic support or laboratory tests because the required machines and equipment are yet to be installed or imported. Those installed are not in full operation. Also, according to media reports, against 1,000-strong manpower the specialised hospital needs for its operation, only 250 people could be recruited by June 7 last.
Reportedly, fund shortage is responsible for this state of things. Currently, it is the physicians of the BSMMU who are running the outdoor show on an ad-hoc basis. Here the case is intriguing. Under the 'Institutional Practice Policy 2023, physicians attend their private chambers in the hospital in the afternoon after their official duty hours. Patients have genuine reasons to complain that the consultation fees are double the rates set for doctors in other government hospitals.
More concerning is the fact that the 14 ultra-modern operation theatres, a 100-bed intensive care unit (ICU), a 100-bed emergency unit, 44 cabins and 540 general beds the hospital is supposed to have cannot be made operational without the required number of qualified staff. Whether it is possible to pick up all the doctors from the local stock for all the departments is very much doubtful. The specialised hospital will follow the guidelines set by the BSMMU. But has the duty of super-specialist doctors for the super-specialised hospital been defined and scheduled? Similarly, pathologists, laboratory technicians and machine operators will be harder to find when it concerns bone-marrow transplants, gene therapy, robotic surgery and nanotechnology-based medical services and robot-assisted surgery. They need to learn their trade and skills, in addition to their academic study, through training abroad if necessary.
A super-specialised hospital needs super-specialist staff. But already there are allegations of nepotism and irregularities in the recruitment of such staff. Now there is a rush for starting operations, apparently under pressure from higher authorities, of different departments and other facilities including laboratories, patients' accommodation, operation theatres and ICUs from July next. Does it not give the impression of putting the cart before the horse? For the hospital to rise up to its billing and stem the exodus of about 850,000 patients who go abroad for medical treatment every year, it must earn first the reputation that it delivers. To do so it must have adequate qualified staff and equipment.
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com