The Raipura Upazila Health Complex in Narsingdi has undertaken various initiatives to improve the quality of medical services, ensure faster treatment, maintain a clean environment and strengthen healthcare services at the grassroots, overcoming the some limitations.
The health complex is one of the main public healthcare facilities for residents of the upazila. It currently provides regular outpatient services and round-the-clock emergency treatment.
As a result, need for patients to travel to the district headquarters or Dhaka for primary and general medical care has decreased significantly, according to officials concerned, reports BSS.
Hospital sources said a modern cell counter machine was recently installed with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to make disease diagnosis easier and faster.
The machine enables medical staff to conduct various blood tests quickly and accurately.
This has reduced patients’ waiting time and inconvenience, as well as the cost of diagnostic tests.
A separate 10-bed dengue ward has also been established at the health complex.
Hospital authorities said around 200 dengue patients had already received treatment and recovered before returning home, with the cell counter machine helping speed up diagnosis. The attendance of doctors, officers and employees has also improved.
Besides, X-ray services and various essential diagnostic tests are being conducted at the pathology department at government-fixed rates.
Hospital authorities said government-supplied medicines were also being distributed among patients through a proper and transparent process.
Regular cleaning activities and supervision have brought changes to both the indoor and outdoor environments of the hospital.
Concerned staffs have been carrying out routine activities to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for patients.
The health complex has also intensified efforts to extend healthcare services to remote areas of the upazila rather than limiting its activities to hospital-based treatment.
These initiatives include the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), measles-rubella campaigns, digital health data preservation through Open SRP, verbal autopsy and enhanced monitoring of community clinic activities.
The upazila health department said these activities placed particular emphasis on ensuring healthcare services for people living in remote areas, especially mothers and children.
Majeda Begum, a resident of Nilakhya area in Raipura who came to the hospital for outpatient treatment, said patients previously had to wait for a long time and the environment was not very satisfactory.
“Now doctors listen to patients attentively, and the environment is much cleaner than before,” she said.
Ahmed Islam, a relative of a patient who came to the emergency department, said patients could now receive services from doctors and nurses more quickly than before during emergencies.
The doctors’ sincerity had also reduced the suffering of patients and their relatives, he added.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Jannatun Naim said that since taking responsibility, she had been working to ensure quality healthcare for people at the grassroots level alongside institutional medical services.
She said close monitoring was being carried out to ensure the regular attendance of doctors, round-the-clock emergency services, cleanliness and transparent distribution of government medicines.
Activities such as EPI, measles-rubella campaigns, community clinic services, Open SRP and verbal autopsy were also being closely supervised.
“With the addition of modern equipment such as the cell counter machine, the capacity and speed of disease diagnosis have improved.
These changes are being brought about through the coordinated efforts of doctors, nurses, field workers, officers and employees,” Dr Jannatun Naim said.
She added that better healthcare services could be provided to the people of Raipura if the health complex received the necessary manpower and more modern medical equipment.
Narsingdi Civil Surgeon Dr Md Bulbul Kabir said the Raipura Upazila Health Complex would be upgraded to a 150-bed facility to further improve the quality of healthcare services.
“There are many remote areas in this upazila where travelling takes considerable time under normal circumstances. An initiative has been taken to construct another 150-bed hospital to serve people in these areas,” he said.
He added that an application had also been submitted to deploy a “Jibon Tari” (a floating hospital) to ensure emergency healthcare for people living in remote areas.
The health department remains committed to ensuring healthcare services for the general public, he said.
Locals believe that the initiatives to improve healthcare services at the hospital and grassroots levels should continue.
They said increasing the number of beds for admitted patients, appointing an adequate number of specialist doctors and expanding the use of modern medical technology could turn the Raipura Upazila Health Complex into a more effective healthcare facility.