The government has constructed a specialized hospital in Ukhiya of Cox's Bazar with support from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency.
A new specialised hospital established in Ukhiya, funded by UNHCR, will begin operations following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief today, a UNHCR press release said.
The Ukhiya Specialised Hospital was constructed and equipped by UNHCR to provide timely specialist interventions for patients in need of lifesaving interventions and those who require secondary care. The hospital will provide health services for both Bangladeshi host community and Rohingyas living in the adjacent camps.
On behalf of their respective sides, Dr Md Anwar Hossain Howlader, Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry; Md Kamrul Hasanc, Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR); and Johannes Ven Der Klaauw, UNHCR Representative; signed the MoU, committing UNHCR to build the premises of the hospital, provide all necessary equipment, and contribute initially to the personnel costs.
The new facility will be named as "Ukhiya Specialized Hospital". The MoU also stipulates that the health ministry will progressively take over the management of the facility and the costs for all human resources to take full responsibility by the end of a three-year period.
The hospital will provide outpatient services for surgery, trauma care, eye and dental care, physiotherapy and palliative care, while it also includes a 24/7 emergency unit, state-of-the-art laboratory and diagnostic facility.
Medical and support staff from the health ministry and UNHCR partner organisations Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK), Relief International and Orbis will provide services at the hospital.
One specific feature of the hospital is the provision of telemedicine services through virtual consultations and guidance by qualified specialists. These services cover inter alia internal medicine, surgery, orthopedics and gynecology. Similar telemedicine services have been initiated as of 18th of June by the health ministry through the Civil Surgeon in Noakhali district, for displaced Rohingyas living in Bhasan Char.
The UNHCR and the government of Bangladesh have a long-standing operational partnership to improve and expand health service delivery in the Cox's Bazar district, including through infrastructure development and reinforcing the quality of services.
UNHCR established and supported the running of the first Intensive Care Unit and the High Dependency Unit and Severe Ward in Sadar District Hospital in Cox's Bazar. UNHCR is currently completing a major outpatient wing of this hospital.
The UN refugee agency and humanitarian partners have established 14 COVID-19 isolation and treatment centers in the Rohingya camps and host community.
BDST:1737 HRS, JUN 30, 2022
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