The floating hospital, Jibon Tari, had been providing advanced medical treatment to poor patients of remote areas for almost two decades, by sailing around the large rivers of Bangladesh.
Last week, the three deck 40 by 10 metre vessel, packed up its activities from the Jamuna river embankment in Nahlpur area of Manikganj. Since March 16 of this year, it has provided free or affordable treatments to over three thousand patients of the area.
The hospital is manned by forty full time staffers, including four nurses, and three doctors, who specializes in Orthopedics, Ophthalmology (vision), and Otolaryngology (ENT), said the hospital's administrative official Md Alauddin.
He added that the vessel also provides advance treatment to rural people when medical emergencies occur during natural disasters.
Jibon Tari operates from 9 am to 5 pm on working days, since April 10, 1999. It was founded and continue to be funded by Impact Foundation Bangladesh, a Norway based non-governmental organization.
The vessel has an air conditioned operating theatre, 12 beds for patients, testing laboratories, a waiting room for the patients, and chambers for the doctors.
Abroad the Jibon Tari, patients are treated for a range of conditions including cataracts, loss of hearing, plastic surgery, cleft lip, and other surgical treatments.
Doctor Md Tamim Hossain of the hospital said: "Since March 16 to July 8, the hospital has provided treatment to 1047 patients at the Ophthalmology department, where surgery was performed upon a hundred of them.
"On the other hand, 853 and 1,703 patients received treatments respectively at the ENT, and Orthopedics departments of the hospital, where 20 Orthopedics patients received surgery."
Chapal Hossain, a local of Konabari village of Manikganj's Shibaloy upazila said he spent a few weeks in the hospital for his cleft lip operation. "I had to pay only Tk4000 in total that includes the bill for surgery, medicines, and even daily meals."
