The country's lone medical university, BSMMU, spent over Tk 1,000 crore in the last five years, but it could not afford to procure a Tk 6 crore worth of equipment for its catheterisation laboratory that has been out of order during the same period.
The university's annual spending budget for the current fiscal year alone is about Tk 261 crore, according BSMMU sources.
As a result, heart patients seeking best treatment at a reasonable cost at the department of cardiology of the hospital are spending manifolds to get the same treatment at private ones.
A catheterisation laboratory or cath lab is essential in a hospital with cardiac treatment facility where medical procedures are conducted to diagnose and treat a number of heart conditions. These procedures include angiogram and coronary angioplasty or stenting.
In 2003, the BSMMU (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University) authorities installed two cath labs at the department, but one of those started malfunctioning in 2008. It had been repaired multiple times before it finally went out of order in 2012.
Ever since, to be able to handle a large number of adult patients, the cardiology department started using the cath lab designated for children.
Although at least 30 patients line up on an average at the department daily, it is only able to serve at best 15 to 20 of them.
Brokers of at least three private hospitals in the city are now taking advantage of the situation to make a quick buck by convincing the excess patients to seek treatment at those costlier hospitals.
With dwindling number of patients, students of the department are also having difficulty attaining practical experience that is invaluable for any professional physician.
ASM Mostafa Zaman, associate professor of the department, said academic activities and practical training of students are being badly affected due to the absence of sufficient cath labs.
He said to avert fatal accidents, the department at the moment really needs two brand-new cath labs as the rundown lab currently in operation shuts down abruptly during a catheterisation procedure.
For years, the Department of Cardiology has been writing repeatedly to the BSMMU authorities as well as to the health ministry requesting replacement of the out of order lab, but their attempt did not bear any result yet.
Prof Sajal Krishna Banerjee, chairman of the department, said many letters have been written since 2010 to the BSMMU authorities and the ministry of health and family welfare for setting up another cath lab, but to no avail.
When contacted, BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Kamrul Hassan Khan told The Daily Star that the health minister last year committed to provide a cath lab for BSMMU. If the ministry does not provide it, the university would buy it.
Prof Md Ali Asgor Moral, treasurer of the university, present in the VC's office during the interview with the VC, admitted to have received a purchase proposal for the cath lab from the cardiology department. He also said once approved, they would allocate the money for it in the budget of fiscal 2017-18.
Pro-Vice Chancellor (academic) Prof ASM Zakaria Swapan, also chief of central procurement committee of the university, said necessary steps would be taken to procure the laboratory equipment once the proposal is received by the committee.