RMCH to get 1,200 more beds for patients' welfare

Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) is going to get 1,200 more beds aimed at providing more extensive health services to a greater number of people.

With this breakthrough, the tertiary hospital will be elevated to a 2,400-bed one that will contribute a lot to boost its capacity of providing better healthcare services to the patients in general.

RMCH Director Brig Gen Shameem Ahmed said the Directorate General of Health Services will develop a project plan to construct and renovate buildings to accommodate the new beds. The project is expected to be launched in the upcoming fiscal year.

He said patients from all over the region, including from the districts of Rangpur and Khulna divisions, come to this hospital seeking treatment. However, due to the limited number of beds, many patients have to stay in various vacant spaces inside the hospital, including balconies.

Prof Belal Uddin, a retired teacher of the department of pediatrics at RMCH, said staying in these areas poses a risk of patients contracting various diseases and it also makes it challenging for the hospital authorities to maintain cleanliness.

The hospital currently provides treatment to two or more patients than the number of available beds.

He said new beds will significantly reduce patient suffering and the risk of infection. Particularly, the work environment for healthcare providers in the hospital will improve and government expenditure on patients will also decrease.

With the advancement of medical technology, there has been an increased desire among the people to seek modern treatment.

As a result, the pressure on the hospital has increased, but the capacity of the hospital has not increased proportionately.

Principal of Rajshahi Medical College Prof Nawshad Ali said if the beds were enhanced doctors will be enhanced besides infusing dynamism into its service deliveries.

At present, diagnosis and examinations of 90 percent diseases are done in the hospital as various development works were implemented.

RMCH Director Shamim Ahmed said various need-based development works were either implemented or on the final stage in the hospital.

The two-storey building accommodating 40-bed intensive care unit and burn and plastic surgery is being uplifted to six-storey.

Another four-storey building housing the units of cancer, kidney, heart disease and radiology is also being elevated to ten-storey.

Capacity of the units of emergency, gynecology operation theater and casualty has also been enhanced. 

Rajshahi Medical College Hospital tops Bangladesh's list in health service indicator

Brig Gen Shameem Ahmed said their RMCH has again topped Bangladesh's list in service delivery indicator this year after a two years gap.

In the indicator, Sylhet Medical College Hospital and Chittagong Medical College Hospital clinched the second and third positions respectively among the country's 17 public sector medical colleges and hospitals.

"We have attained 63.75 scores among 80 facility scores in the evaluation process," he added.

In addition to the Rajshahi division, patients from Rangpur and Khulna divisions are taking healthcare services in the 1,200-bed tertiary hospital that also delivers services to outdoor patients.

Earlier in 2020, the hospital was declared Bangladesh's best hospital. That is why the hospital got the Health Minister National Award 2020.