Government hospitals in Rangamati, Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Barguna, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Chapainwabganj, Panchgarh, Natore, Magura, Jhenaidah, Bhola, Nilphmari, Thakurgaon, Kurigram, Jamalpur, Jhalakathi, Pirojpur, Shariatpur, Netrokona, Chuadanga have ICU beds. and Sunamganj. Moreover, though the hospitals in Bagerhat and Madaripur have ICU facilities, these are not functioning.
In response to a question about what they do when an ICU bed is needed, the Lalmonirhat civil surgeon told Prothom Alo, “We send emergency patients to Rangpur.”
Many major government hospitals in the capital also do not have ICU beds. National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) is a 1000 bedded hospital where many critical patients are admitted every day. But on Thursday it came to know that there is no ICU bed in this hospital. The National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) also has no ICU facility.
According to the Management Information System (MIS) of the Directorate of Health, by 2021, the number of ICU beds in specialized government hospitals in the country was 548. There were 348 such beds at the district level. That is, the number of ICU beds in the country was 896 in 2021.