Patients and their relatives arriving for treatment at the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital in Mohakhali, Dhaka, have nowhere to rest. Unable to secure hospital beds, many spend the night on the ground-floor verandah, in front of lifts or outside the main gate.
Some have come with husbands suffering from cancer, while others are battling cervical or oesophageal cancer themselves. They arrive the night before scheduled medical consultations, diagnostic tests, or hoped-for hospital admission.
During a visit to the hospital between 10pm and 11:30pm on Monday, this correspondent found patients and their relatives laying thin scarves, plastic mats and sheets brought from home on the floor outside the main gate and in front of the lifts. Some were clearing spaces themselves to spend the night, while others were fanning sick family members.
Amid mosquito infestations and unhygienic surroundings, some tried to get a little sleep. Others held medical prescriptions and test reports, their faces reflecting exhaustion and uncertainty over access to treatment.
With no beds available and no money to rent accommodation nearby, patients and relatives arriving from distant areas are forced to spend nights on hospital premises. Security guards were repeatedly seen asking them to vacate the areas by 6am.
Patients alleged that completing the necessary tests after collecting an outpatient ticket and consulting a doctor can take seven to 10 days. Even after tests confirm cancer and doctors recommend admission, securing a bed is difficult. As a result, treatment is often delayed even after diagnosis.
Aklima Begum came from Pabna with her husband, Mosharraf Hossain, who has throat cancer. They have been spending nights outside the hospital for several days.
Aklima said her husband's chemotherapy ended on Monday evening. Although they were supposed to return home that day, Mosharraf felt unwell after the treatment, forcing them to stay at the hospital. With no bed available, they had to spend the night on the floor.
“We have been staying here for four days because we could not get a bed inside,” she said.
Ten-year-old Nazma arrived at the hospital from Dimla in Nilphamari with her mother and brother. She has blood cancer and was seen sleeping on the hospital premises.
Her mother said she had brought Nazma from Nilphamari to the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital for advanced treatment after her daughter was diagnosed with blood cancer.
She is waiting to take her daughter home after treatment. Despite repeated attempts, she has failed to secure a hospital bed. With no alternative, the family has been staying outside.
A similar situation has forced 50-year-old Rahela Khatun, who came from Laksam in Comilla, to spend nights outside the hospital's main gate.
She initially received treatment in Laksam. After a tumour was detected in her oesophagus, her relatives brought her to the cancer hospital for specialised care. But unable to secure a bed, they spread bedding outside the main gate. Her son was seen sitting beside her and fanning her.
Rahela said they had tried repeatedly to get a bed but failed. They could not afford to rent a room nearby, leaving them with no choice but to stay outside the hospital.
At least 200 patients and their relatives were seen staying on the hospital premises that night.
Those concerned say the crisis stems from a patient load far exceeding the number of available beds, compounded by a shortage of essential staff.
Hospital authorities say an admitted patient typically requires treatment for an average of one to one-and-a-half months, meaning beds do not become available quickly. Meanwhile, new patients continue to arrive every day. Shortages of doctors, nurses and other staff are also placing additional pressure on service delivery.
According to hospital sources, around 1,000 patients visit the outpatient department every day, of whom an average of 50 are admitted.
Estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) GLOBOCAN 2024 project show that 187,263 people were newly diagnosed with cancer in Bangladesh in 2024, while 138,906 died from the disease during the same period.
Dr Mostafa Aziz Sumon, director of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital, said the institution was operating with far fewer staff than required.
Although the hospital has the capacity to provide services for 300 beds, it is currently dealing with a patient load equivalent to nearly 700 beds, including outpatient services. This has created various challenges in delivering treatment, he said, adding that efforts were underway to address the limitations.
The director said a proposal to increase the hospital's capacity to 700 beds had been approved to help manage the patient load. There are also plans to expand the capacity to 1,000 beds in the future.
Alongside the bed shortage, the hospital is also facing inadequate supplies of medicines.
Dr Sumon said government allocations fell short of actual requirements and supply constraints meant many patients could not receive all the medicines they needed. However, he claimed the hospital was still providing around 80% of patients' required medicines within its limited capacity.
To reduce the concentration of cancer treatment services in the capital, the government has taken steps to establish specialised hospitals at the divisional level.
State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr MA Muhit told the third session of parliament that the government expected the cancer, kidney and cardiac hospitals under construction in eight divisional cities to become fully operational by the next fiscal year.
“Given the alarming cancer situation in the country, the disease is being given special priority,” he said.
However, increasing the number of hospital beds alone will not be enough to ease patients' suffering. Addressing staff shortages, inadequate medicine supplies and complications in the admission process is also essential.
Otherwise, relatives fear, patients seeking treatment will continue to face the indignity of spending nights outside hospital gates because they cannot secure admission.