Health authorities have decided to appoint architects from hospitals in the process of upgrading the upazila health complexes from existing 50-bed to 101-bed facilities, instead of the traditional architects from the Public Works Department (PWD) or elsewhere.
The decision was taken recently in a meeting of the health ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) after the PWD and Ministry of Public Administration conducted surveys and prepared primary designs and pathways for the upazila-level hospitals, officials told The FE.
The PWD prepared the primary designs based on the previous experiences and existing old buildings but the health officials believe that this is not sufficient for the extension of such crucial and technical services.
The designs included land acquisition, new buildings, building extension, doctor's chambers, patient services, ICU beds, operation theaters, emergency service and others for the government's announced 101-bed upazila hospitals.
Health officials at the meeting objected to the designs prepared by the traditional architects of the government offices and suggested appointing health architects as they found the primary designs and surveys as inconvenient for hospital operations.
DGHS Additional Director General Professor Dr Zahid Raihan told the FE, "We forwarded the suggestion and the health ministry has decided to appoint health architects in the lead of the upgradeation process of the upazila health complexes."
He said that the upagradation process has begun and it will take time for the cases where they will have to acquire lands.
The authorities, however, dropped the plan of installing lift and building the upazila hospitals as seven-storey buildings mainly considering the situation in the villages and towns.
Instead, the health ministry proposed to extend the proposed upgradation horizontally.
Therefore, the capacity of the old building comes into consideration.
However, the government is prioritising renovation of the existing old buildings with extension so that less government funds are used and a required number of beds could be added.
"The government is giving priority to the jacketing of old buildings in order to minimise the cost and unnecessary expenditure and process of prolong land acquisition," he added.
Furthermore, in many upazilas there are additional government buildings built to support health activities.
The health ministry will consider and evaluate those structures for the upgradation so that no new construction works are needed, said the DGHS official.
The health ministry will use the fund from the ministry's development budget allocated in the new fiscal budget.
The upazila hospitals will be built what like the district hospitals are now in the capacity of doctors, consultants, operation and other service facilities.
There will be 25 consultants, 40 doctors with priority of medicine and gynecology in the proposed 101-bed upazila hospitals. There will be five operation theaters in each upazila hospital.
Earlier, Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain disclosed the government's decision to upgrade 492 upazila hospitals from 50-bed to 101-bed ones in order to increase the facilities of the people in healthcare.
He said that eight upazila health complexes have already been converted into 100-bed hospitals.
The PWD will assess the infrastructure requirements and the Health Ministry will appoint the necessary manpower.
The Prime Minister has already directed the Public Administration Ministry to ensure this manpower.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has given all necessary instructions to the ministries concerned to implement the decision and he is expected to update the nation on this soon marking his government's review of six months, according to officials.
