Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today inaugurated a new 500-bed building at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital in Dhaka’s Agargaon.

He inaugurated the newly constructed building by unveiling a plaque around 10:00am. His wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, accompanied him.

After the inauguration, the prime minister joined a munajat and released pigeons and balloons. He also planted a sapling on the hospital premises.

Social Welfare Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain, State Minister for Health MA Muhit and senior officials were present.

The new building raises the hospital’s total bed capacity to 1,000, making it one of the country’s largest specialised centres for neurological treatment.

The 15-storey building has three basement levels for parking and service facilities, while the upper 12 floors house wards, operation theatres and diagnostic units. It also has 40 ICU beds, 20 HDU beds, 24 post-operative beds and 112 cabins.

The new facility includes a 100-bed specialised trauma unit for patients with brain and spinal injuries caused by road accidents, falls and other trauma. The unit has round-the-clock operation theatre facilities, including four OTs, two of which are modular OTs equipped with advanced German technology.

The building also has a central air-conditioning system, which officials said is the first such facility in a government healthcare institution in the country.

It is equipped with 62 ventilators, a catheterisation laboratory, two MRI machines and two CT scanners. It also has an advanced autoclave system, a solid waste disposal system and a separate oxygen plant.

The facility also includes escalators connecting the first to third floors to facilitate the movement of patients, particularly those with severe injuries.

Doctors said stroke patients constitute the largest group seeking treatment at the hospital, followed by patients suffering brain and spinal injuries. The hospital also treats patients with Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), epilepsy, hydrocephalus and other neurological conditions.

The National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital was laid by then prime minister Khaleda Zia on October 23, 2006, as part of an initiative to expand neurological healthcare in the country.

The new building was inaugurated by her son, Tarique Rahman, on her 81st birth anniversary.