DMCH 5,000-bed mega plan scrapped, eyes 4,000-bed expansion

Highlights:

• Dhaka Medical College Hospital's 5,000-bed expansion project cancelled
• New plan targets 4,000 beds after government change
• Mega project launched 2017, cost Tk18,000 crore
• Hospital overcrowded: 2,600 beds, up to 4,500 patients
• Patients treated on floors, balconies, stairways amid poor facilities
• Phased expansion begins with high-rise building this fiscal year

The long-awaited mega plan to expand Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) to 5,000 beds has been cancelled. After the change in government, the project did not move forward, and a new plan is now being taken up to expand the hospital to 4,000 beds.

Brigadier General Md Asaduzzaman, director of DMCH, told The Business Standard that the mega project was at its final stage and only a final ministry meeting on traffic management around the hospital remained.

"Before the meeting could be held, the then government fell, after which the project was formally cancelled," he said. 

He said the large-scale mega project to expand DMCH to 5,000 beds was launched in 2017 and had reached an advanced stage.

"Under the project, the expansion was to be carried out on the hospital's existing land, preserving its heritage buildings and sites, at an estimated cost of Tk18,000 crore," he said. 

Asaduzzaman said under the plan, DMCH was to have 27 buildings constructed on its 108.5 bigha campus to house hospital facilities, the medical college, library, seminar spaces and dormitories.

"Of these, six hospital buildings were planned to be 17 storeys high, while residential and other buildings were to be 20 storeys," he said.

"The hospital was also to have two emergency departments and two outpatient units," he added. 

Infograph: TBS

Patient overcrowding

Currently, DMCH has 2,600 beds but admits around 4,000 patients a day. At times, the number rises to 4,500.

With beds insufficient, many patients receive treatment while lying on hospital floors, balconies and beside stairways.

For the past week, 65-year-old Ainuddin, who has a brain tumour, has been waiting for surgery on bed no 31 on the balcony of the neuro ward at DMCH.

The former family planning storekeeper and his family do not know when the operation will take place. Ainuddin, his wife and elder daughter are being forced to live in inhumane conditions on the ward balcony alongside other patients.

Ainuddin's daughter Rabeya Khatun told The Business Standard, "After completing the tests, we have been waiting for a week and still do not know when we will get an operation date. No one can sleep because of mosquitoes on the balcony, and the biggest problem is the bathroom. We are poor and cannot afford treatment at a private hospital, so we have no option but to stay here."

The situation is not limited to the neuro department. Across Dhaka Medical College Hospital, patients are found on ward floors, balconies and even under staircases, with no standard wards or cabins available. The hospital also lacks an improved drainage system.

DMCH to be expanded to 4,000 beds

Following the cancellation of the mega project, hospital authorities have proposed a new plan to expand DMCH to 4,000 beds to ease patient pressure.

DMCH Director Brigadier General Md Asaduzzaman said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the authorities decided to opt for 4,000 beds instead of 5,000, as DMCH is an academic hospital.

"Simply increasing the number of beds does not guarantee a reduction in patient pressure," he said.

He said the Public Works Department has been tasked with preparing a master plan to implement the 4,000-bed project. 

"A joint meeting involving the Directorate General of Health Services, the Public Works Department and the chief engineer is expected, though no date has yet been set," he said. 

As finalising the master plan will take time, he said the authorities want to begin work on at least one building quickly, he added. 

Md Asaduzzaman said the hospital's old three-storey outdoor building has become highly risky, prompting plans for a replacement. 

"The proposed building will be 17 to 20 storeys high with two to three basement levels and is planned for the area behind the burn unit. Work is expected to begin within the current fiscal year," he said.

Phased expansion plan

The new building will initially be used as an alternative to outdoor services. Under the master plan, administrative facilities, a day-care centre and other services may be added there in the future.

"Our plan is to start with one building and gradually develop the entire hospital," the director said.

He said DMCH is no longer just an academic hospital but has become the country's largest service hospital.

"While many other hospitals turn patients away, Dhaka Medical does not," Md Asaduzzaman said. 

"Currently, about 75% of admissions come through the emergency department, yet there is no effective system in other hospitals to share this burden. This is why the issue of keeping government hospitals open in the evening needs to be considered," he added.