A four-month-old baby struggling with pneumonia and breathing difficulties spent three nights on the floor of Rangpur Medical College Hospital before finally getting a bed—only to share it with three other children.
The experience of Sumi Akter from Kachakata in Kurigram is far from exceptional.
In the paediatric department of Rangpur Medical College (RMC) Hospital, 86 beds are routinely packed with three to four times as many patients.
Children are being treated on floors and several sharing a single bed as the hospital struggles to cope with a daily average of 260-300 admitted patients.
The overcrowding is placing enormous pressure on doctors and nurses while raising concerns about the spread of infectious diseases such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis.
The crisis persists despite the existence of a modern 100-bed children’s hospital nearby, whose construction was completed nearly seven years ago but which is yet to begin full-fledged operations due to shortages of manpower and medical equipment.
Hospital authorities said the children’s department comprises wards 8, 9 and 10, with a total of 86 beds.
Against this capacity, 260-300 children are admitted on average every day.
Besides, against an approved strength of 150 nurses, only around 50 are currently working.
In September alone, 59 children died at the hospital, according to hospital data.
Hospital officials said none of the children who died was infected with measles.
Dr ANM Tanvir Chowdhury, assistant professor at the RMC Hospital children’s department, said the number of patients far exceeds the designated capacity.
“In some cases, three or four or even more patients have to be accommodated in a single bed. This puts additional pressure on doctors and nurses. At the same time, the risk of infection increases because patients with infectious diseases such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis are being treated amid the overcrowding,” he said.
Sumi said her baby has been admitted for four days and spent the first three nights on the floor.
“My child is suffering from breathing problems. We have been here for four days. We could not get a bed. There is no place for children to stay in such a big hospital,” she said.
Mamata Begum of Mominpur in Rangpur Sadar has been at the hospital with her child for seven days.
“We came here hoping to get better treatment, but there is no space. I am very worried about my child,” she said.
Dolly Khatun, nurse-in-charge of Ward 10, said the ward has 40 beds but around 180 children are admitted there at any given time.
She said the number of patients is likely to rise further during winter, when respiratory illnesses among children typically increase, while the number of nurses remains far below requirements.
Another major problem is the shortage of phototherapy machines used to treat newborns suffering from jaundice.
Ismail Hossain from Gaibandha has been at the hospital with his newborn for 31 days.
He said two babies are sometimes placed under the same phototherapy machine, raising concerns about infection.
Seven years, but no full operation
The pressure on RMC Hospital was supposed to ease with the opening of a 100-bed modern children’s hospital constructed close to the city’s Nagar Bhaban.
The facility has provisions for an emergency department, outpatient services, doctors’ rooms, laboratories, an operation theatre, specialised units, wards and cabins.
Yet most of its rooms remain unused.
Health department sources said a proposal seeking 659 staff members for the hospital was sent to the Health Ministry in June 2023.
The hospital currently provides outpatient services for children, but inpatient treatment and full-fledged operations have not yet begun.
Dr Wazed Ali, deputy director of the divisional health directorate, said some furniture had recently arrived at the facility.
“Three truckloads of furniture have recently arrived. I do not know when the required doctors, manpower and equipment will arrive. It depends on a decision by the concerned ministry,” he said.
Dr Tanvir said the 100-bed hospital could significantly ease the pressure on RMC Hospital if it was fully equipped and made operational.
“Rangpur Medical College Hospital serves a huge population across the northern region. If the 100-bed children’s hospital is made fully operational with the necessary manpower and other facilities, the pressure of child patients on RMC Hospital will decrease considerably,” he said.