An automatic biochemistry analyser machine procured at the Bagerhat 250-bed Hospital has been lying unused for over a year. No allocation has yet been made to procure the reagents for conducting diagnostic tests using the machine.

As such, patients are deprived of diagnostic facilities at the hospital and are compelled to spend a lot more to get their necessary tests done from private centres.

Noor Jahan Begum of Charkathi village under Kachua upazila was one such patient.

"I came to the hospital with pain in my legs, spine and back. The doctor prescribed a number of tests. A few could be done here but most had to be done from outside, which cost me Tk 2,500," she told this correspondent.

"If all the tests could have been done here, it would benefit poor people like us a lot," said Mizan Sheikh, another patient.

The automatic biochemistry analyser machine was procured for the hospital on March 7, 2023 at a cost of Tk 38,28,120. An organisation called Bangladesh Science House supplied the machine.

However, the high-capacity machine has since then remained boxed and is collecting dust at the hospital's pathology department as it cannot conduct diagnostic tests without necessary reagents.

Although the hospital authorities wrote to the health department for fund allocation to procure the reagents, they are yet to get any response to this end.

The machine is capable of producing results for more than 50 biochemical tests including serum electrolytes, TSH, and immunochromatography, among others, said Manik, lab attendant at the pathology department.

Dr Sadia Tasnim Munmun, resident medical officer at the hospital, said,"As the machine continues to remain unused, the risk of having it getting damaged rises over time. Also, over 6,000 patients, who come at the hospital from different areas every month, are being deprived."

Dr Asim Kumar Samaddar, superintendent of the hospital, said, "A letter has been sent to the health department for allocation of fund to procure reagents for the auto-analyser machine.

The supplier organisation has also been contacted to this end.

"If the fund is allocated, the machine will be brought to use soon."