The intensive care unit at Jamalpur General Hospital has remained unused since its inauguration, depriving heart patients of required treatment for years.

The ICU, inaugurated on January 31, 2015, has been non-functional for eight years due to a shortage of trained manpower and inadequate testing facilities. The unit now remains locked.

As a consequence, patients with severe heart problems are redirected to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital or any hospital in Dhaka.

Solaiman Kabir from Sarishabari upazila told The Daily Star that his father, experiencing severe heart pain in 2019, was rushed to Jamalpur General Hospital. However, the on-duty doctor referred him to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, and he passed away on the way there.

Had he received treatment at the hospital, he might have survived, Kabir added.

Recently, officers from the National Electro-Medical Equipment Maintenance Workshop & Training Center visited the hospital. They declared one of the two machines in the ICU completely unusable, while the other is repairable, according to hospital authorities.

Lovely Akhter, the nurse in charge at the ICU, said, "I come here every morning and stay until half-past two. No patient has been treated here since its inauguration."

Jamalpur Civil Surgeon Dr Pronoy Kanti Das said, "The ICU's function has yet to start due to a shortage of necessary manpower and medical equipment. Recently, it has been declared unusable."

Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, assistant director of the hospital, alleged that the ICU machine was damaged due to the non-cooperation of the officials at the National Electro-Medical Equipment Workshop. He said they have sent several letters informing them about the issue, but to no avail.