Published : 21 May 2025, 04:58 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 01:18 PM
Two cath labs for conducting angiograms and angioplasty or stenting for cardiac patients have yet to become operational five years after they were set up at Manikganj Medical College Hospital (MMCH). Authorities claim they could not use the machines due to lack of skilled personnel.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a notice on May 8 to shift one of the two cath labs to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, said Manikganj Medical College Hospital Director Shafiqul Islam.
The news of the cath lab move has angered the residents of the district.
In the 2018-19 fiscal year, the contractor firm HTMS and in 2020-21, the Trade House supplied two cath labs to MMCH. However, a lack of a skilled workers prevented these machines from being used.
Nearly five years since the equipment was brought in, a notice signed by Md Shahadat Hossain Kabir, deputy secretary of the Government Health Management-1 Branch of the Health Services Department, has ordered the transfer of one of the two cath labs of MMCH to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
The notice said that in order to provide uninterrupted medical services to a large number of patients at the CMCH, it was necessary to transfer a suitable cath lab of the two unused at MMCH to Chattogram. Under the circumstances, authorities were directed to take necessary measures to transfer a suitable cath lab from MMCH to CMCH, it said.
The chief technical manager, Nimue & TC will provide necessary technical advice and assistance in this regard, as per the notice.
The news of the cath lab moving to another district has angered hospital officials, employees and members of local civil society. They demanded the immediate opening of the cath lab.
Sumon Hossain, a resident of Harirampur Upazila, said that cath labs were vital in the treatment of cardiac diseases. If the hospital's cath labs were operational, it could save the lives of thousands of patients. If a cath lab moved elsewhere, the patients of this district would be deprived of medical services, he said.
Saifuddin Ahmed, a retired teacher of Khan Bahadur Awlad Hossain College, told bdnews24.com, “Patients are not getting adequate services at Manikganj Medical College Hospital. Why couldn’t the two labs be opened even though four years have passed?”
“The medical college authorities cannot evade responsibility for this. I heard that they talked about a workforce shortage - so why didn’t they take necessary steps for the recruitment?”
The retired educator demanded the two cath labs be opened at Manikganj Medical College.
Prof Monowar Hossain, a member of the Manikganj District Health Rights Forum, said: “The two cath labs at the medical college remained unused for a long time. One of them is now being moved to another place. This is a great danger for the district. Those who failed to make it operational cannot avoid responsibility.”
MMCH Director Md Shafiqul Islam admitted that it was not possible to open the two cath labs due to lack of skilled workers.
He said, “I took the initiative to open the cath lab after joining the hospital. All the work has been completed. One cath lab will start its operation once we receive patients."
When asked whether it was possible to provide services with one lab, he said that it was. However, preparations were underway to send another cath lab to CMCH as per the ministry's directives.
