Walk through Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital and the crisis reveal itself instantly. Patients lie on thin mats along corridors, on stair landings, even near the doors of toilets. Some clutch saline bags, others wait silently with weary eyes. They came seeking care. Instead, many are left searching for a place to lie down.
At the heart of this suffering is an unfinished promise. Construction of the 250-bed hospital building at Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital began in June 2018. The project was supposed to be completed within 18 months. By that timeline, the hospital should have been operational by the end of 2020. Yet in 2025, the building still stands incomplete, its doors unopened, its wards unused.
The delay has had devastating consequences for patients. The hospital currently operates from an old 100-bed facility, but on many days, more than 400 to 500 patients are admitted. The mismatch between capacity and demand has pushed the healthcare system here to its breaking point.
With no beds available, patients are forced to stay on floors, corridors and verandas in unhygienic conditions. For the hospital staff, maintaining even a basic standard of care has become an everyday struggle. Doctors and nurses are stretched thin, attempting to manage a patient load far beyond the hospital’s design.
The upgrade of Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital was first announced in March 2017, when the former prime minister declared that the 100-bed facility would be expanded into a 250-bed hospital. Following this announcement, the Public Works Department floated a tender, and the contract was awarded to Rupali GM & Sons Consortium.
The initial construction cost was set at over Tk 35 crore. Work officially began on June 12, 2018, with a deadline of December 2019. When that deadline passed unmet, the project timeline was extended to June 2021. Even then, the building remained unfinished. What was meant to be a year-and-a-half project has now dragged on for nearly eight years.
Patients and their families say the consequences are severe. Bed shortages mean compromised care, longer waits, and increased suffering. Many believe that once the new building opens, not only will bed capacity increase, but the quality of care and overall environment will improve significantly.
Hospital authorities share this hope. According to Civil Surgeon Dr Shahin Alam, the hospital admits an average of 400 to 500 patients daily, and the number continues to rise. “The moment we receive the new building, we will start 250-bed operations,” he said. “That will reduce patient suffering. But alongside beds, we also need manpower. The shortage of doctors and nurses is even more critical than the bed crisis.”
The contractor, Ismail Hossain of Rupali GM & Sons Consortium, attributed the delays to the COVID-19 pandemic and financial constraints. He admitted that he cannot say for certain when the project will be completed.
Officials from the Public Works Department point to budgetary complications. Lakshmipur PWD engineer Shafiqul Rahman said the construction work is close to completion, but full payment has not yet been released. Additional work has already been carried out by the contractor, he added, and once the remaining budget is approved, the building can be completed quickly.
Until then, patients continue to wait on floors, in corridors, and in uncertainty. In Lakshmipur, the cost of an unfinished building is not measured in concrete or steel, but in human suffering endured every single day.
