Construction work completed but lift, gas line installation yet to start

SYLHET, Feb 29: Construction work of the 8-storey building of the much-awaited 250-bed Sylhet District Hospital has already been completed but its operation could not start yet for the delay in installation of lift and gas line.
Besides, Madhabpur Upazila Health Complex in Habiganj is facing difficulties in providing necessary healthcare service to the residents of the upazila due to multifarious problems, including lack of modern equipment and shortage of manpower.
During a recent visit , this correspondent found that the construction work of the hospital building has been completed and the contractor firm could hand over the building to the Health Department authorities at any time.
But installation of lift and gas line of the government-owned healthcare facility is still uncertain and that is why its operation is being delayed. An official admitted that the health department has not floated tender for installation of lift as yet.
Engineer Sharafat Karim, project director of the Padma Associate & Engineers, contractor firm for constructing the hospital building, told this correspondent, "We have done our job (of constructing the building) and can hand over the complex to the Health Department authorities at any time."
"However, installing lift and gas line is not within our contract," he maintained.
The Health Department authorities are yet to decide under whose management the hospital will operate.
Delay in fixing the controlling authority would eventually delay initiation of the healthcare service at the government hospital, locals apprehend.
Kabir Ahmed, a resident of the city's Munshipara, said construction of the hospital building was delayed due to several extensions of time. At the beginning, environmental activists raised a protest over the site selection, causing much delay. Then the authorities had to defer the construction work amid the contractor's negligence. Now again it is being delayed for deciding under whose authority the facility with operate.
Contacted, Assistant Director Dr Nure Alam Shamim at the Divisional Health Office told this correspondent, "The main construction work of the hospital building has been completed."
Only the installation work of lift and gas line is yet to be done. Once completed, the facility would be ready for operation, he added.
Director of the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital Brigadier General Mahbubur Rahman wrote a letter to the higher authorities requesting to fix the functioning authorities for the new hospital.
Normally, the 250-bed type hospitals are run by an independent authority, headed by a superintendent. The Health Directorate will take decision in this regard.
Officials viewed that fixing the authorities and organogram is a time-consuming matter.
Construction work of the hospital building at a cost of Tk850 million (Tk85 crore) started at the 6.98 acre site of former Abu Sina Hostel of the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College amid protest from various quarters.
Later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally laid its foundation stone.
The contractor firm was given work order on July 1, 2018 but they started work on the 8-storey hospital building in January 2020 with the target to complete it by 2021.
Later, the schedule for the construction work had to be extended twice.
On the other hand, regular healthcare activities at Madhabpur Upazila Health Complex in Habiganj have been being hindered by lack of modern equipment, frequent power outages and shortage of manpower for a long time, much to the suffering of the inhabitants of Madhabpur upazila of the district.
Often power outage delays even Cesarean section operation putting patients and physicians in a fix- and the wait spans for hours sometimes. Although the hospital complex was upgraded into a 50-bed facility long ago, required manpower has not been recruited so far. Against the sanctioned 36 posts of physician, only 19 are at work. For example, important posts of consultants for cardiology, anesthesiology, ENT, surgery, skin & VDRL have been lying vacant for long.
Out of the 50 posts of health assistants in the upazila level healthcare facility, 18 are vacant. Out of three posts of staff nurses, only one has been serving while only a ward boy is there against three posts.
The job of storekeeper is being manned somehow by other staffers.
Two posts of medical technologists out of three have been lying vacant for long depriving the poor patients of the basic test facilities.
X-ay cannot be done due to absence of radiography technician while dental technician post is also vacant. The ophthalmology department lacks required equipment while the patients are even asked to have urine tests and others done at the private diagnostic centres at higher costs.
About 50 percent posts of class III and class IV employees like compounder, OT boy, emergency attendants, gardener etc have been lying vacant.
Saifur Rahman, a trader in Madhabpur upazila town, said the government spends huge money for the hospital, but the common people can't benefit from it. Even for some basic tests the patients are advised to take service from the private diagnostic centres, he alleged. Every day several hundred patients visit the hospital to take treatment for various ailments, but many of them have to go back home disappointed.
Besides, the frontier upazila has a number of tea gardens. The busy upazila on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway is important for other reasons too. Often road accident victims are advised to move to the district hospital, Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital or to Dhaka hospitals.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Md Ishtiaque Al Mamun said the old generator at the hospital's old building cannot cover the new building.

[email protected]