Unlike all other government-run upazila health complexes in the country, the one in Saidpur upazila town serves only outpatients, as it never had the capacity to admit inpatients. 

As a result, the Saidpur Upazila Health Complex -- housed in a British-era building in the heart of the busy commercial town -- only dispenses medicines and renders medical services that do not require hospitalisation.

If it was equipped to provide fully fledged inpatient services, it could be an immense relief for townspeople, especially when the Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc across the country, said locals.

Without having the setup like a complete hospital, a good part of the funds allocated for the health complex oftentimes remains unutilised.

Although the government has successfully set up a modern hospital with 50 beds capacity in every upazila of the country, people of Saidpur have so far been deprived of one such facility in their upazila headquarters.

The townspeople have to travel to the outskirts of the town, in Kundol area, where a 100-bed hospital was established ages ago, primarily for the working class people of the town that hosts the largest railway workshop in the country. The hospital mainly treats various common diseases such as tuberculosis, diarrhoea, scabies, filaria and leprosy.

Locals said that though the hospital in Kundol is not capable of serving the entire population of Saidpur town, its existence near the town is causing the delay in setting up of a modern hospital in the town.

Abu Md Alimul Bashar, upazila health and family planning officer in Saidpur, said the Saidpur Upazila Health Complex now serves as a centre for vaccination under the EPI programme and a monitoring centre for different community clinics.

After serving the few outpatients who turn up the health complex, most of the hospital crew -- consisting of five doctors, seven nurses and several staffers -- usually find time to serve the Kundol hospital on deputation every day, he added.

Mazharul Anwar Shamim, Saidpur unit secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujon), said, "A hospital in an upazila is the lifeline of all medical services and its construction is a mandatory government programme. Otherwise, the general public will be deprived. It would also be able to serve additional patients during the time of pandemic."

Saying that the 100-bed hospital is well equipped to combat Covid-19 situation, Nilphamari Civil Surgeon Zahangir Kabir said a project proposal to set up a 50-bed health complex for Saidpur upazila has been submitted.

High officials recently visited the proposed site at Hazarihat village and its construction would start soon after the proposal is approved, he also said.