Releasing patients ‘Holling Bery Syed Moazzem Red Crescent Hospital’ in city declared as closed on Tuesday after doctors and staffs resigned as remained unpaid since long days.
After visiting the hospital and talking with the stakeholders it was learnt that the doctors and staffs giving resignations left the hospital locking entrance gate.
Enayet Karim, acting officer in charge of the hospital, said 57 personals including 5 doctors, 12 nurses and 40 staffs of the hospital received their last salaries on November 2013 and after repeated intimations no fund was sent for their salaries.
In this situation Dr. Sushmita Islam, Farzana Rahman, Laila Farzana and Mehebuba Farzana giving resignation left the hospital on Monday releasing admitted 20 indoor patients and closing outdoor activities.
Other staffs also sent their resignation letters over fax to the authority.
In this situation they locking the hospital declared it as closed sine die, he added.
Construction of four-storied building, installation of modern medical equipments and deploying organogram of ninety officials, staffs need huge funds, said Iqbal Hossain Forkan, president of the hospital management committee and acting president of Red Crescent Barisal unit.
Before inauguration, the hospital governing committee in a meeting on July 7, 2012 decided to fix the service charges up to the limit for bearing minimum management costing without any profit. But it was protested by the local people after inauguration of the hospital and they declared the donor Syed Moazzem as persona non grate. So the donor after spending more than 8 core taka suspended his help since November 2013 and Red Crescent Society also failed to provide funds for running the hospital, Forkan said.
However he hoped that the fund would be managed by convincing the donor and local people and hospital will resume services soon.
Mentionable Mrs. N. R. Holling Bery, a shipping agent, owned 1.4 acres of land at Amanatganj area of the then Barisal district town and opened ten-bed ‘Coronation Baby Clinic’ and maternity center there on 27 September 1937.
Pakistan government added a labour welfare center at the premises in 1964 and continued to be managed by Pakistan Red Crescent Society and laterBangladesh Red Crescent Society.
Joining the name of the donor of the construction works ‘Holling Bery Syed Moazzem Red Crescent Hospital’ constructed at the cost of Tk 7 core on 12 decimile of vast unused 71 decimile land of Holling Bery founded ‘Coronation Baby Clinic’ and inaugurated on February 5, 2013.
