The government has taken an initiative to bring Chattogram Railway Hospital in the city’s CRB area under the Ministry of Health and upgrade it into a modern 100-bed general hospital.
At the same time, plans are being considered to establish a hospital and a trauma centre in Sitakunda to ensure emergency and regular healthcare services for workers in the industrial belt.
The proposals were discussed at a one-to-one meeting between Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain and Chattogram City Corporation Administrator Dr Shahadat Hossain.
Under the proposed plan, the existing infrastructure and facilities of Chattogram Railway Hospital will be utilised to transform it into a fully functional general hospital.
Once brought under the Ministry of Health, the hospital will have opportunities to increase its bed capacity, introduce modern medical equipment and recruit the necessary doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
The initiative is expected to provide improved government healthcare services to ordinary and low-income residents of the port city.
Meanwhile, the meeting also discussed establishing healthcare facilities for workers employed in Chattogram’s industrial zones.
As part of the plan, a hospital for industrial workers and a trauma centre in Sitakunda would be established to provide prompt treatment to people injured in road accidents along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
The proposal also includes establishing a total of six hospitals in phases to ensure healthcare services for workers.
Chattogram City Corporation Administrator Dr Shahadat Hossain said the demand for healthcare services was increasing alongside the city’s growing population and the rising number of patients coming from surrounding areas.
As one of the country’s major port cities and commercial hubs, Chattogram is witnessing increasing pressure on its public hospitals, he said.
Upgrading the railway hospital into a 100-bed general hospital would expand the city’s healthcare infrastructure and enable poor, lower-middle-income and working-class people to access better medical treatment at affordable costs, he added.
He further said a large number of workers, transport employees and people from different professions travel through Chattogram’s industrial zones and along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway every day.
Establishing a hospital and trauma centre in Sitakunda is therefore essential to ensure emergency healthcare for industrial workers and provide immediate treatment to road accident victims, he said.
If implemented, the two initiatives are expected to expand public healthcare facilities in Chattogram city and its surrounding industrial areas, particularly improving access to medical services for low-income people, industrial workers and road accident victims.
