Rajshahi Children’s Hospital to be partially operational within 3 months: Health secretary

Health Secretary Kamruzzaman Chowdhury today expressed regret over the deaths of children who had been on the waiting list for intensive care unit (ICU) support at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), acknowledging “limitations” in the system.

“We express our regret for the deaths. No death is ever desirable. There were some limitations on our part here,” he said while speaking to journalists at the hospital around noon.

He said seven ventilators had been brought from Dhaka with the assistance of different organisations, which would help address the situation to some extent.

The health secretary added that there was a plan to refer children requiring ICU support, but not suffering from infectious diseases, to Rajshahi Heart Foundation, where ICU facilities are available.

He also said initiatives were being considered to make infrastructure functional at hospitals, including Rajshahi Children’s Hospital, the district Sadar Hospital and the Chest Disease Hospital, so that they can provide services.

Rajshahi Children’s Hospital would be partially operational within three months, the health official said.

“Initially, outpatient services will start there, and other services will be launched in the next fiscal year.”

The health secretary further said the recent measles outbreak could be linked to disruptions in vaccination during protests by healthcare workers.

“During that time, children did not receive measles vaccines. When mothers may have gone for vaccination, they might not have found health workers. As a result, such an outbreak may occur,” he said.

According to him, the purchase committee has already approved Tk 604 crore for vaccine procurement.

“We have already released the funds. Vaccination for children, including measles vaccines, will begin soon,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the health secretary and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Director General Prof Prabhat Chandra Biswas visited RMCH.

In the morning, they held a meeting with hospital officials and physicians to discuss the overall situation. They later inspected different wards and the ICU before speaking to journalists.