SR Sriful Islam Ratan, Lalmonirhat

It was once bustling with railway officials and employees and local patients. Lalmonirhat Railway Hospital(LRH) But now, as it is in a largely abandoned state, the medical activities of this hospital are being disrupted. Currently, there is no scientific equipment to provide advanced health services. Although there are medicines, patients do not get much benefit from them. Thousands of people in this region are deprived of good medical care due to various reasons including the shortage of doctors and other working positions. Currently, indoor medical services are about to be closed. Although outdoor and emergency medical services are available, they are minimal. It is known that only a few patients come to the hospital’s outpatient department for treatment every week, and the indoor conditions are very deplorable. The 32-bed hospital One or two patients are admitted occasionally. Railway officials and employees and locals said that Lalmonirhat Railway Hospital Due to the shortage of doctors and manpower, they have to go outside this hospital to get medical services. They have blamed the shortage of doctors and manpower for such a situation. In this situation, they sought the government’s intervention to resolve the problems of the hospital in the public interest without delay. Local resident Mohammad Ali (54) said, Most of the doors inside the hospital are locked. Although they are opened occasionally, there is not much activity in the hospital. Even if the lock is suddenly opened When you go inside, you can see cows and goats in the field. The hospital is being boarded up. Most of the doors inside the hospital are locked, creating a spooky atmosphere. Locals said that despite the fact that the Lalmonirhat Railway Hospital is not running properly, the people of the area have protested many times, but to no avail. According to hospital sources, the 32-bed hospital has 10 beds for women and 20 for men, as well as 2 beds for officials. On Sunday afternoon, it was seen that the hospital has only 1 doctor, 1 senior staff nurse, and 3 other employees. The hospital Not a single patient. Speaking to the working nurse, it was learned that there is currently one patient admitted to the hospital, and he is receiving medical care from his home. The roof and walls of this hospital building, built during the British era, have cracks, and the windows and doors are in poor condition. The tiled roof is ruined, the gaps between the bricks are filled with weeds, it seems like no one is looking at them. Even walking inside or outside the hospital building makes you shiver. It looks like a haunted house. In an abandoned and dilapidated medical building Many have been seen risking their lives to provide medical services. Locals say that the medical sector is in such a state due to the lack of maintenance and importance of the railway authorities. Basically, 4 centers are operated from the Divisional Medical Officer’s office in Lalmonirhat: Lalmonirhat, Tistamukhghat, Bonarpara, Parbatipur. According to information from the Lalmonirhat Divisional Medical Officer’s Office The number of sanctioned posts, working posts and vacant posts at Bangladesh Railway Hospital Lalmonirhat as per the Government Grant Order (GO) are: Physician 1st Class: There are 10 sanctioned posts, 1 person is in the working post, and 9 people are in the vacant posts. 2nd Class: There are 25 people in sanctioned positions, 10 people in working positions, and 15 people in vacant positions. 3rd Class: There are 14 people in sanctioned posts, (zero) people in working posts, and 14 people in vacant posts. 4th Class: There are 185 people in sanctioned posts, 70 people in working posts, and 115 people in vacant posts. Out of 234 posts, 81 are currently staffed. 153 important posts remain vacant, which is hampering medical activities. It is to be noted that the number of sanctioned posts of Divisional Medical Officer of Bangladesh Railway Hospital, Lalmonirhat Center is one, the number of working posts is zero and the number of vacant posts is one. The number of sanctioned posts of Assistant Surgeon is three, the number of working posts is one and the number of vacant posts is two. Senior Staff Nurse of Lalmonirhat Center Roksana Begum (45) said that when the medical center was operational, a lot of patients used to come. Now there are no doctors, so patients do not come. However, it is possible to build a 500-bed hospital with the available space. If it is made operational, it will be possible to provide medical services to thousands of people in this district, as well as railway officials and employees. He also demanded that the government make the hospital operational. Medical Technologist in Radiography Worker Humayun Kabir (40) said that when the medical services were good, most patients would come for medicine and primary care. Currently, there is virtually no indoor medical service. In other words, not all patients are admitted. Therefore, the hospital needs to be modernized and redesigned to ensure effective healthcare. Bangladesh Railway, Lalmonirhat Divisional Medical Officer Dr. Mahfuz Iftekhar Bhuiyan said that the hospital needs to rearrange the posts granted during the British era. This will implement the government’s main goal of providing healthcare. The hospital’s medical services have been severely affected due to the shortage of doctors and manpower. In such a situation, he sought the government’s intervention to resolve the hospital’s problems in the public interest without delay. Bangladesh Railway Lalmonirhat Divisional Manager Md. Abdus Salam he said, “A report has been sent to the higher authorities to increase the manpower. The hospital will become operational once the required manpower is received. We are continuing to talk to the higher authorities to ensure health services. The authorities will look into the manpower crisis and the current problems seriously within a few days.”