DOT Desk
A master plan is being prepared to upgrade and expand the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), reports The Daily Sun.
Health and family welfare ministry has taken an initiative to prepare the detailed design and cost estimation for the planned upgradation as the hospital is unable to meet the growing demand for medical services.
Under the technical scheme, a full-fledged master plan will be prepared, exposure visits will be conducted to prepare structural designs for the buildings that will be erected at DMCH premises. Tk 9.28 crore will be spent on preparing the master plan under a project for modernisation, expansion and rebuilding of the hospital, ministry sources said.
The existing DMCH building was built before the partition of Bengal in 1905. It was used as the secretariat of newly formed provinces of East Bengal and Assam after the partition of Bengal.
Dhaka Medical College first started its journey in this building in 1946. After addition of 500 beds with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s initiative in early October 2013, the number of beds increased to 2,300.
The hospital now sees around 35,000 patients every day, leaving it in an awkward situation to handle such a large number of patients and provide quality services, health officials said.
More health staff, spacious space and medical equipment are required for providing treatment to such a huge number of patients, they said.
While laying the foundation stone of National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, the prime minister directed for erecting modern buildings at DMCH premises to replace the old ones, official sources said.
In view of the PM’s directive and increased demand for treatment at the country’s largest hospital, its upgradation and expansion have become inevitable.
Health and family welfare ministry officials hope that DMCH will be at the centre stage of medical services in the country and will be able to provide quality treatment at lower cost.
Regarding the proposed consultant service, the Planning Commission while evaluating the project, however, made an observation that the consultant service under the scheme should be revisited.
It should include, disaster impact assessment experts, heritage archaeologists and medical education experts, the Planning Commission suggested in its evaluation.