BR, Health Services Division to run railway hospitals in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Saidpur

After Chattogram, railway hospitals in Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Saidpur will come under the joint management of the Health Services Division and Bangladesh Railway (BR) in the second phase.

This decision came today at a tripartite meeting of the officials from the ministries of health, railways, and finance at the Railway Rest House in Dhaka's Kamalapur, according to a press release of railways ministry.

The development follows a memorandum of understanding signed on April 21 this year between the Health Services Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Railways to operate 10 BR hospitals through joint management.

Currently, railway officials and staff receive treatment at these hospitals. Under the new arrangement, the hospitals will gradually be opened to the public.

Following the MoU, the Chattogram Railway Hospital and the Chest Disease Hospital were merged and are now being operated under joint management as the Chattogram Railway General Hospital by the Health Services Division and the BR.

A central management committee was also formed to oversee the operation of these hospitals. In line with the committee's decisions, today's tripartite meeting was held to ensure smooth and effective healthcare services.

At the meeting, a special 100-day programme was adopted to define the responsibilities of the three ministries for the proper management of the newly joint-managed hospitals.

Other hospitals under BR will gradually come under joint management as well.

The meeting was attended by Khairuzzaman Majumdar, secretary to the Finance Division; Saidur Rahman, secretary to the Health Services Division; Railways Secretary Fahimul Islam; and Afzal Hossain, director general of Bangladesh Railway.