The government has decided to open the Rajshahi Children’s Hospital, which has remained unused for three years since its construction was completed. Health Services Division Secretary Kamruzzaman Chowdhury announced during a visit to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital that the facility will begin partial operations within three months. Initially, only outpatient services will start, with other departments expected to open in the next fiscal year.

Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services, Professor Dr. Prabhat Chandra Biswas, also visited the site and mentioned plans to activate other completed but idle health infrastructures, including the district and chest hospitals. Construction of the 200-bed children’s hospital began about eight years ago at Bandhgate in Rajshahi at a cost of Tk 35 crore. Despite completion three years ago, it remained closed due to delays in government handover, leading to theft of equipment.

The hospital includes 12 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds. The decision to open it followed reports of child deaths while waiting for NICU care. Overcrowding at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital’s pediatric ward, which admits up to 700 patients against 200 beds, has intensified the need for the new facility.