Shishu hospitals in 6 districts: Buildings left to decay, services yet to begin

Although modern hospital buildings have been constructed at significant expense in different districts of the country, many have remained unused for years. Hospital buildings exist but services have not started — this is the case in Rangpur, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barishal, Sylhet, and Cumilla.

Speaking with people concerned, Prothom Alo correspondents learned that although construction work on these six hospitals has been completed, five of them — except Rangpur — have not been taken over by any institution under the health department due to the absence of manpower, furniture, medical equipment, and funding allocations. As a result, unused infrastructure is deteriorating, and thefts have occurred in several buildings.

The hospitals are Rajshahi Shishu (Children) Hospital, Khulna Divisional Shishu Hospital, Rangpur Shishu Hospital, Barishal Shishu Hospital, Cumilla Shishu Hospital, and Sylhet District Hospital. The construction of Sylhet District Hospital began during the previous Awami League government.

At that time, local ministers and senior health ministry officials announced plans to establish it as a Shishu hospital. Later, there was a decision to shift the nearby 100-bed Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital — known as the Sadar Hospital — into the new district hospital building. There was also a verbal proposal to move the district hospital’s activities into the existing Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital and turn it into a Shishu hospital. However, no decision was finalised.

So far, the government has spent more than Tk 3.2 billion constructing these six hospital buildings. Including neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), there are 1,050 beds in total. Some of the hospitals were completed six years ago, while others were completed about ten months ago.

Recently, with the outbreak of infectious diseases such as measles, the number of child patients in district hospitals has increased. Physicians are struggling to provide services with limited beds and staff.

Amid this situation, local residents have expressed anger and frustration that specialised children’s hospitals remain unused. Those concerned say the impasse is due to a lack of coordination among government agencies, administrative complications, and poor planning.

When asked, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Director (Hospitals and Clinics) Moinul Ahsan told Prothom Alo, “During the previous government’s term, these hospital buildings were constructed without consulting the DGHS. There was no planning on how these hospitals would be run.

To open a hospital, administrative approval is needed. Approval from the Ministry of Public Administration is required for manpower, and the Ministry of Finance must also approve funding. We have already held several meetings to open these hospitals and are trying to complete the process as quickly as possible.”

Construction of the 100-bed Rangpur Shishu Hospital was completed six years ago. Several rounds of correspondence between the local health department and the ministry have taken place since then, and committees have been formed to open the hospital, but it remains unopened.
According to the Rangpur office of the Health Engineering Department, Tk 314.8 million was spent constructing the three-storey hospital and residential quarters on 1.78 acres of land near the city corporation.

The Civil Surgeon’s office said the building was handed over on 8 March 2020. It was used as an isolation ward for Covid-19 patients at the time. Later, on 16 February 2023, the then health minister inaugurated the hospital without administrative approval, manpower creation, or funding allocation.

A proposal to recruit 659 staff members was sent to the ministry on 5 June 2023. Although approval to operate 100 beds was granted on 5 October last year, no funding has been released.

Rangpur Civil Surgeon Shahin Sultana said she has repeatedly raised the issue at ministry and district development committee meetings. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Enamul Ahsan said he has been in contact with the ministry.

Khondkar Fakhrul Anam, President of Sujan’s Rangpur District Committee, said it should be investigated why a well-built hospital funded by taxpayers remains unopened — whether due to bureaucratic complications or negligence.

Health department has not taken over the Khulna hospital
The Khulna Divisional Shishu Hospital project began more than a decade ago. Construction was completed a year and a half ago, but services have not started. According to the Public Works Department, repeated letters were sent for handover, but the DGHS has not taken possession.

The hospital was approved in early 2017, and five acres of land were acquired at a cost of Tk 520 million. The five-storey hospital building and associated facilities were constructed at a cost of Tk 630 million, completed by June 2023.

A recent visit showed that the premises are abandoned, overgrown with weeds, and most rooms locked. There are no beds, and the main gate and boundary walls are incomplete. Cracks are visible on parts of the staircase.
Khulna Public Works Department Executive Engineer Kamrul Hasan said, “We are ready to hand it over. We have written several times, but they have not taken possession.”

Civil Surgeon Mahfuza Khatun said the building is unprotected, lacks staff, and would be difficult to maintain.

The Rajshahi Government Shishu Hospital was built at a cost of about Tk 350 million. Construction began in 2016 and was completed by June 2023. A formal handover letter was issued on 30 October 2023, but authorities have not taken possession.

A caretaker said thieves have stolen fittings, electrical equipment, and power cables. The contractor said it is no longer possible to guard the site.
The hospital includes 52 NICU beds and 148 other beds, totalling 200.

Rajshahi Public Works official Kawsar Sarkar said the issue lies with hospital authorities, as it has not been decided who will receive the facility.
Civil Surgeon SIM Rajiul Karim told Prothom Alo that they have nothing to do in this regard and asked the reporter to talk with director of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

RMCH director PKM Masud Ul Islam said the director was only overseeing the construction.

Construction of a 250-bed hospital in Sylhet was completed two years ago, but no decision has been made about which authority will manage it.
Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir called it an “ill-planned project” but promised efforts to resolve the matter.

The eight-storey building cost about Tk 1.01 billion. The Public Works Department said no institution under the Health Ministry has agreed to take over the hospital. Additional infrastructure and furniture worth Tk 100–110 million will be required before handover.

Assistant Director Mohammad Nure Alam Shamim said no one has been assigned responsibility for operating the hospital.

Cumilla Medical College Hospital has only 40 pediatric beds, yet receives four to five times more patients daily. A 100-bed shishu hospital was built at a cost of Tk 360 million, completed in June 2024, but it has not opened.
Civil Surgeon Ali Nur Mohammad Bashir Ahmed said there is no manpower, furniture, or equipment, making handover meaningless at this stage.

The estimated cost for constructing a specialised 200-bed children’s hospital in the Amanatganj area of Barishal city was set at Tk 194.8 million. Construction of a four-storey building on a 10-storey foundation began on 13 February 2017. According to the work order, the hospital was supposed to begin providing services in 2019, but as construction was not completed, it could not be opened even about six years after the scheduled deadline.

According to Public Works sources, the hospital construction began around 2017. After several deadline extensions, the work was almost completed about a year ago. Describing the failure to open the hospital as alarming, Rafiq-ul-Alam, general secretary of the Barishal city committee of Citizens for Good Governance (Sujan), told Prothom Alo that if the specialised children’s hospital were operational, better treatment could have been ensured for children during emergency situations like the current measles outbreak.

A source in the health department said that although the hospital’s infrastructure has been built, around 300 personnel—including a superintendent, specialists and other physicians, technologists, and other staff—will be required to operate the hospital. Medical equipment will also be needed. However, the issues of manpower and medical equipment have not yet been resolved. Both processes are complex and time-consuming. As a result, even if the building is handed over, uncertainty remains over when the hospital will start functioning.

Brigadier General AKM Mashiul Munir, director of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, recently visited the hospital. Speaking to Prothom Alo on Saturday evening, he said the hospital is located about three kilometres away from Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, on the other side of the city.

For that reason, coordinating medical services over such a distance would be difficult. However, he added that the hospital would have all modern facilities. Separate letters have been sent to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Directorate General of Health Services regarding opening the hospital, but no directives have yet been received.

SM Manzur-e-Elahi, member-secretary of the hospital building implementation committee and civil surgeon of Barishal district, told Prothom Alo, “As this is a 200-bed hospital, it must be handed over to a fourth-grade officer. For this reason, we have written to the chairman of the hospital building implementation committee and the director of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital. However, as the installation of the lift and substation is still ongoing, the handover has not yet taken place. Once the handover is completed, we will take steps to open it according to the directives of the Ministry of Health.”

Attempts were made to contact the executive engineer of the Public Works Department and other officials regarding this matter, but their phones were found switched off.

Former caretaker government adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman told Prothom Alo, “There is a strange contradiction within our state structure, within the government. When something needs to be built or infrastructure needs to be developed, there is no lack of enthusiasm. There is no shortage of budget allocations. The size of the budget keeps increasing year after year.

These allocations are made properly, but when it comes to public service, indifference becomes apparent. Some self-imposed rules are cited as excuses. The problems arising after constructing several hospitals, particularly regarding their handover, clearly reveal this character of the state administration. At the state level, these are examples not only of indifference, but also of extreme negligence and inefficiency.”

[Reporting contributed by Abul Kalam Muhammad Azad, Rajshahi; Suman Kumar Das, Sylhet; Zahir Raihan, Rangpur; Uttam Mandal, Khulna; M Jasim Uddin, Barishal; and Abdur Rahman, Cumilla]