Six hospitals, each with the capacity of 20 beds in different parts of Comilla, are unable to offer heath care to patients as they are unoperational due to a string of problems.
Three of them opened occasionally while theft occurs regularly at the remaining three. All the six hospitals are almost deserted.
The healthcare facilities are Bagmara Hospital, Sonaimuri Hospital, Goharua Hospital, Mahichail Hospital, Donarchar Hospital and Trauma Centre.
The 20-bed Goharua Hospital was built in Nangalkot upazila at a cost of Tk6 crore eight years ago, but it is offering no service at all to patients.
There are no doctors, nurses and security guards, and all the nine buildings of the hospital are largely covered by bush.
Nangalkot Jodda Union Parishad Chairman Ali Akkas said the hospital could have served more than two hundred thousand people in Nangalkot, Senbagh and Manoharganj.
Nangalkot Upazila Health Officer Dr Liakat Ali said the hospital’s electricity line was disconnected due to outstanding bill.
“There is no water there either. Many things have been stolen as there is no security guard. Apart from ensuring proper infrastructure, the hospital needs manpower,” he said.
The Trauma Centre at Shahidnagar in Daudkandi upazila was built in 2006 at a cost of Tk6 crore with the aim of dispensing emergency treatment to patients facing accidents on Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
The health ministers of both the Awami League and the BNP inaugurated the hospital separately but it is yet to go into full fledged operations.
Construction of Donarchar Hospital ended in 2006 but it has an ineffective outdoor department with inadequate doctors and nurses.
Mahichail Hospital in Chandina was built in 2006 and there is outdoor department but like Donarchar Hospital, there are not sufficient healthcare professionals. Construction of Sonaimuri Hospital began in 2002 but only 70% of the work has finished in twelve years. The initial expense was Tk4.13 crore. The hospital now looks like an abandoned property.
Bagmara Hospital lies in the same condition as Sonaimuri Hospital. Construction began in 2005 but only 57% of the work has been completed so far. The initial expense of the project was Tk5.82 crore.
Comilla Civil Surgeon Dr Mujib Rahman admitted the poor condition of the hospitals.
“Construction of Bagmara and Sonaimuri Hospitals are yet to be finished. Mahichail and Donarchar Hospitals have outdoor departments. Lack of manpower is hampering operations of the others,” he said.
“We have applied seeking appointment of some new staff and also some infrastructural developments. I hope the recruitment will end shortly,” he added.