Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday inaugurated the country's first Super Specialised Hospital under the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in Dhaka.

The premier virtually joined the inaugural function and declared the opening of the hospitalat 11:27am from her official residence Ganabhaban residence here.

"I believe that this hospital will open new horizons in medical research. About 5-8 thousand patients will receive outdoor services per day. Once it is launched, the country will save approximately Tk350 crore," said the prime minister. 

The prime minister has put special emphasis on doctors' training and medical research. She urged doctors to expand their horizons and visit rural areas to provide necessary healthcare to the underprivileged. 

"Emphasis should be placed on medical research. Research in the field of health is still insufficient. I urge the expert doctors to pay heed to research in addition to providing service," she said. 

The state-of-the-art specialised hospital has been built at a cost of Tk1,366 crore on 3.4 acres of land on the north side of the BSMMU. Of the construction cost, South Korea provided Tk1,047 crore as a loan.

"We thank the Korean government for the financial and technical support in the implementation of this project. I sincerely thank all those who donated this land," she remarked. 

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malik presided over the inaugural event.

The prime minister also noted that established doctors from around the world should be given the opportunity to come to Bangladesh and provide training to the country's healthcare officials. 

Mentioning the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine, she urged countrymen to be more vigilant in the face of adversities. 

"Food security and healthcare are directly proportional, thus, we would need to increase our production while being frugal when it comes to using natural resources," she said adding, "I urge people from all walks of life to focus on personal savings for rainy days."

Earlier on 13 September 2018, she laid the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art specialised hospital. 

The hospital has 11 modular operation theatres of international standard and there will be at least five world class centres with different departments, disciplines.

It will be the country's first medical facility where centre-based medical services will be provided.

The five centres include – Cardio and CerebroVascular Centre, Hepatobiliary and Liver Transplant Centre, Mother and Child Health Care Centre, Kidney Disease Centre, and the Accident & Emergency Centre, and a 100-bed ICU.

Regarding centre-based medical services, Zulfker Rahman Khan, project director of the super specialised hospital, told The Business Standard that a patient will get comprehensive treatments at the five centres as each will have different departments, disciplines.

In Cardio and CerebroVascular Centre, a comprehensive treatment of Cardiac disease will be provided including Cardiology, Cardiac surgery, Paediatric Cardiology and Vascular Surgery, he added.

There will be 64 cabins including six VVIP cabins, 23 VIP cabins and deluxe cabins.

There will be a state-of-the-art operation theatre, and a state-of-the-art CT scan and all tests starting from MRI will be digitised in this hospital.

BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Sharfuddin Ahmed compared the inauguration of the Super Specialised Hospital with the Padma Bridge as it is a major achievement in the country's health sector.

He hoped that the healthcare facility will be able to provide better treatment to patients and help reduce the trend of travelling abroad for treatment, ultimately reducing the suffering of people and medical expenses.

In July, the BSMMU VC had said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Super Specialised Hospital on 28 August but later the launching ceremony was pushed back by two weeks in honour of the month of mourning.