Sharmeen Murshid opens 100-bed specialized hospital in Cumilla

Adviser of the Ministries of Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare, Sharmeen S Murshid, has said ensuring modern, affordable and quality healthcare is now a pressing demand.

She said this while inaugurating a 100-bed specialized Khayrunnessa-Ibrahim General Hospital virtually on Friday. The inauguration ceremony took place at the Bishnupur Munsef Quarter area of the city.

The hospital has been built to deliver low-cost healthcare services to underserved communities, Sharmeen said. She expressed hope that the facility would play a vital role in expanding access to essential medical care.

Social Welfare Secretary Dr Mohammad Abu Yusuf joined the ceremony as a special guest with National Professor A K Azad Khan, President of the Bangladesh Diabetic Association, in the chair.

Bangladesh Diabetic Association Secretary Mohammad Saif Uddin, Chairman of National Healthcare Network (NHN) Syed Rezwanul Kabir, Cumilla’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) ABM Moshiuzzaman, Deputy Civil Surgeon Reza Md Sarwar Akbar, Professor Hazera Mahatab, Mrs Rabeya Haque, wife of the late ATM Shamsul Haque, and NHN Chief Executive Officer Dr M A Samad also spoke on the occasion. 

Politicians, freedom fighters, teachers, representatives of pharmaceutical companies, journalists, and people from various walks of life were present.

Speaking on the occasion, Professor A K Azad Khan said the hospital was established to fulfil the commitment of providing trustworthy healthcare to people. 

With modern technology and skilled doctors, it will become one of the country’s leading humanitarian healthcare centres, he added.

Mohammad Saif Uddin said the hospital will facilitate low-income people to have treatment from Cumilla instead of travelling to Dhaka.

There will be specialist doctors, modern labs and facilities in the hospital, and no one's treatment will be stopped due to lack of money, he added.

Speakers at the event said that Cumilla should have had such a hospital much before, and that need has been fulfilled today. They hoped that in the near future, it would be upgraded to a 250-bed hospital and provide integrated healthcare services.

The ceremony began with observing a one-minute silence for the late ATM Shamsul Haque, former Chairman of the Public Administration Reform Commission and former Secretary, who had donated 125 decimals of land in his mother’s name for the hospital. 

The hospital, jointly funded by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Bangladesh Diabetic Association, will provide specialised treatment to diabetic and other patients along with advanced diagnostic services.

The hospital has departments of medicine, surgery, gynaecology, pediatrics, nephrology, orthopedics, cardiology, neurology, ophthalmology, and dentistry, alongside facilities for echo, X-ray, ultrasound, colour Doppler, ECG, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation. 

Advanced operating theatres, an eye surgery unit, 24-hour emergency services, an ambulance, and pharmacy services are also available in the hospital.