The health ministry has started implementing its plan to upgrade all 418 existing upazila health complexes (UHCs) to 101-bed facilities to accommodate the growing number of patients seeking care at public hospitals.
At the same time, it has begun the process of establishing new 101-bed UHCs in 13 upazilas, including some upazilas created in recent years, that currently lack such facilities.
The Health Services Division recently instructed the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to prepare a development project proposal and initiate the process of creating the necessary posts to implement the initiative, officials said.
The move comes about a month after Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain announced that the government had decided to upgrade all existing upazila health complexes to 101-bed facilities under a major healthcare expansion plan approved by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Unveiling the plan on June 3, the minister said preparations had already begun, although he did not specify a timeline for its implementation.
UHCs form the backbone of the country’s primary healthcare system. According to the DGHS Health Bulletin 2024, they treated 47 million outpatients, handled 9 million emergency cases, and admitted 3.6 million patients that year.
The average bed occupancy rate at UHCs stood at 111 percent in 2024, highlighting the growing pressure on these facilities.
Health ministry sources said nine UHCs have already been upgraded to 100-bed facilities, while the remaining 418 are planned to be converted into 101-bed hospitals. Thirteen upazilas, most of them created in recent years, still do not have a UHC.
On July 6, the Health Services Division asked the DGHS to prepare a development project proposal for upgrading the 418 UHCs and constructing new hospitals in the 13 upazilas.
A health ministry official, requesting anonymity, said most of the 418 UHCs currently have 50 beds, while some have only 31, meaning extensive infrastructure expansion will be required before they can be upgraded.
“We asked the DGHS to prepare a project proposal considering the infrastructure expansion and other implementation requirements,” the official said.
The official added that the 13 upazilas lack UHCs because many were created recently, while in some older upazilas, government health services have so far been limited to outpatient care instead of a full-fledged upazila health complex.
The 13 upazilas are Madyanagar (Sunamganj), Eidgaon and Matamuhuri (Cox’s Bazar), Dasar (Madaripur), Guimara (Khagrachhari), Shayestaganj (Habiganj), Lalmai (Cumilla), Rangabali (Patuakhali), Karnaphuli (Chattogram), Bhulli and Ruhia (Thakurgaon), Mokamtala (Bogura), and Chandraganj (Lakshmipur).
Meanwhile, three more upazilas -- Fatikchhari North (Chattogram), Bangra (Cumilla), and Dakkhin Gafargaon (Mymensingh) -- were created earlier this month, and authorities are processing a proposal to include them in the project.
The Health Services Division has also asked the DGHS to initiate the process of creating the additional posts that will be required once the hospitals are upgraded, sources said.
DGHS Director General Prof Pravath Chandra Biswas said groundwork had already begun following the prime minister’s approval of the plan.
“We are now carrying out a feasibility study. Based on its findings, a development project proposal will be prepared,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.
He said the DGHS is also assessing the existing staff at each hospital to determine how many additional posts will be needed under the government’s standard staffing structure for a 100-bed hospital.
