Pabna, Oct 02 (V7N) – Allegations of overcrowding, inadequate staffing, expired licences and poor management have surfaced at a private mental health and drug rehabilitation centre in central Pabna, raising questions about regulatory oversight and compliance with healthcare requirements.

The Bangladesh Mental Hospital and Drug Rehabilitation Centre, located in the Sonapatti area of Pabna town, was found during a recent visit to be operating with more patients than its approved capacity, while several required licences had reportedly expired and had not been renewed.

The facility was established in 2018 and operates from the third, fourth and fifth floors of a rented building. According to information provided by the hospital management, it has approval to accommodate 17 patients. However, 28 patients were staying there during the visit, 11 more than the approved capacity.

The wards also appeared overcrowded. Beds that are required to maintain a certain distance from one another were placed close together, with five beds arranged in a single room.

The hospital management said mental health patients and drug-dependent patients were kept in separate rooms. A small room next to the wards was being used for food preparation and meals, with a toilet located nearby.

No other male or female nurses were seen at the facility during the visit, while the hospital is located in a densely populated part of the city and has no dedicated parking facility.

Akash Hossain, who identified himself as the hospital manager, said three psychiatrists from Dhaka and Pabna provide treatment at the facility.

He said one doctor from Dhaka visits once a week, while doctors from Pabna come when necessary. There is no doctor permanently stationed at the hospital, he said.

The facility is reportedly operated behind the scenes by Shahnaz Sultana Champa, a senior staff nurse at the government-run Pabna Mental Hospital. Her elder son, Yusuf Bin Mizan, is listed as the managing director of the private facility.

According to information gathered from the hospital and local sources, Champa joined the Pabna Mental Hospital as a nurse in 1998 and has continued to work there.

There are allegations that she leaves her government duty after completing part of her scheduled working hours to manage the private facility. Local sources have also alleged that patients are referred from the government mental hospital to her private facility through intermediaries and that government medicines are misused.

These allegations could not be independently verified.

There are also questions over whether a government employee is permitted to operate or manage a private healthcare business of this nature while remaining in government service.

Champa denied the allegations and said the private hospital was established to provide employment for her elder son during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My elder son is the owner of the hospital. I am only supporting him as his mother,” she said.

She also rejected allegations concerning her personal assets. She said her younger son went to Australia for higher education on a scholarship and received financial assistance from relatives.

Regarding her house in Pabna town, she said she had received financial assistance from her brother and taken a bank loan to purchase land and construct the building.

She said the hospital was established in a rented building because the family did not have a suitable building in the city at the time.

“We are now in the process of purchasing land and relocating the hospital to a greener area outside the city,” she said, describing the allegations against the institution as the result of personal hostility and a possible conspiracy.

An examination of the documents available at the facility showed that the environmental clearance had expired in 2024 and had not been renewed. The Fire Service licence expired in 2025, while the health authority's licence had also expired without renewal, according to the documents reviewed.

The licence issued by the Department of Narcotics Control, however, was valid until 2026.

Mohammad Yusuf Ali, assistant director of the Department of Environment in Pabna, said the facility had previously been granted environmental clearance and had been instructed to renew it.

He said the hospital authorities had also taken two years to relocate the facility outside the city.

“If they fail to relocate within the stipulated period, action will be taken,” he said.

Mohammad Shahidul Mannaf Kabir, deputy director of the Department of Narcotics Control in Pabna, said two drug rehabilitation centres in the district currently hold licences and both have renewed their licences.

He confirmed that the Bangladesh Mental Hospital and Drug Rehabilitation Centre was one of them.

“As they have relatively few patients, they are not monitored in the same way as larger facilities. However, complaints were raised against them previously and they were warned. Since questions have been raised again, the facility will be brought under closer monitoring,” he said.

Pabna Civil Surgeon Dr Abul Kalam Azad said licences for such hospitals are issued by the Directorate General of Health Services, while the local health authorities are responsible for monitoring them.

He acknowledged that some private hospitals accommodate more patients than their approved bed capacity.

“We have instructed them not to admit patients beyond their approved number of beds,” he said.

He denied allegations that officials overlook violations in exchange for benefits.

“The government has issued their licences, but some facilities may delay renewing them. Nevertheless, we will examine the issues. If any irregularities are found, action will be taken accordingly,” he said.

END/MSR/SMA/