Bangladesh Railway Hospital, built on about five acres of land at Kamalapur in the capital city, is limping due to an acute shortage of doctors and staff as well as life-saving medical equipment.
The authority concerned has recently failed to conduct medical checkup during health test for railway’s new employees due to a severe shortage of doctors and necessary equipment at the hospital.
During visit to the hospital two weeks back, it was found that doctors have to wait for patients for hours. Even though the 100-bed hospital has 94 rooms, 35 of them are still vacant. On the other hand, the hospital has only 41 beds instead of 100 beds.
A hospital employee, seeking anonymity, told the Bangladesh Post, “Due to a lack of security guards, thefts occur here frequently. There are no specialised doctors in the hospital, which lacks modern medical devices. Only a handful of patients are admitted to the hospital while remaining beds lie empty. Those who come to the hospital often do not get proper healthcare service.”
Another employee said, “On average patients, or even fewer, are admitted to the hospital daily. They are not receiving necessary medical care, and beds are often completely empty. Only employees of Bangladesh Railway can be admitted to the hospital, while outdoor services are available for others.”
“On average, 50 patients receive outpatient treatment facility daily. From January to July 8 this year, 9,400 patients have received outdoor services. Such treatment is limited to merely making up prescriptions,” he added.
Sources said there are no specialised doctors for patient care at the hospital. Only eight medical officers are available, including one for gynaecology, one for outdoor department and two for emergency department.
Additionally, there is one medical officer at pathology and radiology department. The hospital has 130 staff members apart from seven nurses.
The hospital has seven cabins and two VIP cabins, all of which remain empty. Among diagnostic services, only X-rays are conducted, and that too on an analogue machine.
Although there is a pathology machine, it lacks reagents. There is a dental and dressing room, but patients do not receive other medical care. Besides, there are no medicines or surgery department. While there is an operating theatre, it remains unused. Due to a lack of patients, most doctors leave for home after noon.
A staff member, preferring anonymity, said that the hospital used to receive many patients, and meals were served three times a day. Now meals are not even served once a day.
He further said, “I had three deliveries here, but now there are no materials available for deliveries. Patients used to stay even on the veranda outside the ward, but now the entire hospital is silent.”
A medical officer at the railway hospital said that the facility is shrinking day by day. A few years ago, services like Covid testing, drug tests, X-rays, ECGs, eye exams, and health checkups were conducted. Apart from blood group tests, diabetes checks, and X-rays, nothing else is performed.
Previously, the hospital also issued fitness certificates for railway recruitment, but now people are sent outside for these tests.
Sources have indicated that theft incidents occur due to lack of action by the hospital authority. Three air-conditioners, a motorcycle, helmets, and mobile phones were stolen from the premises.
Dr Ripon Das, a former divisional medical officer of Bangladesh Railways (who was responsible for hospital inspections) said, “The hospital is very old and operates on a system since the British era, which was appropriate at that time. In 2024, it is not feasible to work with that system anymore because medical practices have changed.”
When asked about the reasons for conducting health tests for railway’s new recruits elsewhere, he declined to make any comments in this regard.
After the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hospital was designated asCovid facility, and some beds were added along with the appointment of doctors and nurses. But two months later, the hospital was dropped from the list of Covid hospitals, and the doctors and nurses were subsequently withdrawn.
Railway officials said that a memorandum of understanding was signed between the railway and health ministries in 2015 to improve health services and renovate the hospital.
Railway sources said that the health ministry wants ownership of the hospital land to build infrastructure, but the railway ministry is unwilling to provide land. As a result, the construction work on another hospital building has remained stalled.
Sardar Shahadat Ali, Director General of Bangladesh Railway, told Bangladesh Post, “There is an acute shortage of doctors in the hospital. There are complexities in the recruitment process for doctors.”
We have informed the Ministry of Public Administration that the issue needs to be settled. Through the Ministry of Railways, we have requested the health ministry to provide us with some doctors on deputation. If we have more doctors, the number of patients will increase. The number of patients do not increase due to a lack of doctors.”
When asked about improvement in health service at the hospital, the railway director general said, “If we receive budget, we will procure new equipment. In addition, technicians will also be needed to operate this equipment. We are working on this matter. Hopefully, we will see some changes.”
