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Department:- Asthma specialist, Medicine Specialist, Orthopedic, Bone, Joint, Spine Specialist, Cardiologist, Chest Specialist, General Physician, Gynecologist,
Rangpur Medical College Hospital, often shortened to RMCH or Romek, is the single largest public hospital serving all of northern Bangladesh. Its foundation stone was laid in 1969 by Monaim Khan, then Governor of East Pakistan, and the college formally began operating on 18 March 1970 on 75 acres of land in the Dhap area of Rangpur city. What started as a 500-bed facility has grown into a 1,000-bed teaching hospital, and it now functions as the primary referral centre for eight districts, Rangpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, and Gaibandha, together home to more than 20 million people.
That role comes with a scale of daily demand few hospitals in the country match: an average of around 2,000 patients admitted every day, according to hospital figures cited in a September 2023 Prothom Alo report. The same report described a hospital struggling badly to keep pace with that load on the equipment side. Both of the hospital's CT scan machines had been out of order for an extended period, along with the facility's only angiogram machine, 46 cardiac monitors, and a large number of pulse oximeters, amounting to 537 malfunctioning medical devices in total. The article illustrated the human cost through Nazir Hossain, a 75-year-old Rangpur Sadar resident admitted after a brain stroke, whose doctors needed a CT scan to check for internal bleeding or clots but couldn't get one done because both hospital scanners were down.
A Daily Star editorial published around the same time traced the roots of the problem back over a decade. Much of the hospital's heavy equipment, it reported, had been purchased from a single vendor, Lexicon Merchandise, during FY2011-12 and FY2012-13, at a cost exceeding Tk 100 crore, and most of it became dysfunctional within roughly a year of installation. By 2023, the editorial described a different syndicate, referred to locally as "char khalifa," as having taken over control of most requisition and procurement deals, with hospital management allegedly preferring to purchase new equipment rather than repair what already existed. The piece went further, citing allegations that some syndicates were deliberately damaging machines to push patients toward costlier private facilities, and that patients were being extorted by hospital staff at multiple points during treatment. The ICU wasn't spared either: three of its ten beds were frequently out of service, and the unit reportedly lacked an echocardiogram, ultrasonography equipment, a portable X-ray machine, and arterial blood gas analysis capability.
This wasn't an isolated episode. In 2018, Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission formally charged the college's then principal, along with five others, with embezzling roughly Tk 4.5 crore through the purchase of unnecessary and substandard medical equipment, a case that predates and parallels the 2023 findings. The health minister has publicly acknowledged the hospital's problems, and the ACC has taken some action against individuals implicated, though as of the most recent reporting available, the underlying structural issues had not been fully resolved.
Phone: +88052153881
Email: rangmc@ac.dghs.gov.bd
Address: Medical East Gate, Health City Road, Dhap, Rangpur-5400
Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/X9nKvA5jKQJbEyTC7
Given the documented equipment failures affecting diagnostic imaging and ICU capacity, it's worth calling ahead to confirm whether a specific test or service is actually available before travelling, particularly for anything urgent.
Founded: Foundation laid in 1969; the medical college formally began operations on 18 March 1970.
Speciality: The largest public hospital in northern Bangladesh, serving as the main referral centre for eight districts and a combined population of more than 20 million people.
Number of Beds: 1,000 beds, expanded over the years from an original 500-bed design, though the hospital reportedly admits an average of around 2,000 patients daily.
Departments: Internal Medicine, Neuromedicine, Surgery, Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Cardiology, Paediatrics, and a full range of other major specialties typical of a teaching hospital, alongside an Emergency and Casualty Department and an ICU. Reporting from 2023 documented significant equipment failures across several departments, including both CT scanners, the hospital's sole angiogram machine, and dozens of cardiac monitors, so confirming equipment availability ahead of a visit is genuinely worthwhile here.
Popular Treatments: General and specialist outpatient consultation, emergency and trauma care, stroke and cardiac emergency management, maternal and childbirth services, and inpatient treatment across all major disciplines, serving as the region's default option for care beyond what smaller district hospitals in North Bengal can provide.
Doctor List
A verified, fully current department-wise doctor list was not confirmed through official channels for this page, though multiple third-party medical directories maintain their own doctor listings by department. Given the hospital's documented operational strain, confirming specialist and equipment availability directly by phone before a visit is a sensible step - please verify.
Outpatient (OPD) consultation across all major specialties. Emergency and casualty department with ambulance service. Indoor admission (1,000 beds, though daily patient volume has been reported as running well above sanctioned capacity at times). Intensive Care Unit, though reporting from 2023 found several beds frequently out of service and noted the unit lacked certain diagnostic equipment. Diagnostic imaging, including CT scan and angiogram services, both of which have been reported as non-functional for extended periods. Additional public health programmes, including a Diarrhoea Training Unit, EPI immunization programme, and model family planning clinic.
Please confirm current equipment and service availability directly with the hospital before a visit, particularly for CT scan, angiogram, or ICU-related needs, given the specific and well-documented equipment failures reported in recent years.
As with most government medical college hospitals in Bangladesh, OPD hours generally run 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM, except on government holidays, with emergency services available around the clock. Given the extremely high daily patient volume, arriving early is strongly advisable - please confirm exact hours directly with the hospital.
The hospital is located at Medical East Gate on Health City Road in the Dhap area of Rangpur city, near the district central jail and Rangpur Cantonment, roughly 330 kilometres from Dhaka. As the main referral hospital for the wider North Bengal region, it regularly receives patients transferred from district and upazila hospitals across Rangpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, and Gaibandha.
Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/X9nKvA5jKQJbEyTC7
As the largest and most comprehensive public hospital in northern Bangladesh, it offers a breadth of specialties, including cardiology, neurology, and advanced surgical care, that smaller hospitals across the region simply cannot match. It remains the default and most affordable referral point for millions of people across eight districts who would otherwise need to travel much further for comparable care. National media coverage and Anti-Corruption Commission involvement have kept sustained public and institutional pressure on the hospital's equipment and procurement issues, which at least keeps the problems from going unnoticed. As a teaching hospital, it maintains a large resident academic and clinical staff base, offering more continuity of coverage than smaller facilities even amid equipment shortages.
Hospital Name: Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH / Romek)
Founded: Foundation laid 1969; operations began 18 March 1970
Location: Medical East Gate, Health City Road, Dhap, Rangpur-5400
Ownership: Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Government of Bangladesh, affiliated with Rajshahi Medical University
Number of Beds: 1,000 (expanded from an original 500-bed design)
Type: Government Medical College Hospital (Tertiary/Divisional Referral Hospital)
Emergency Service: Available 24 hours - please verify current status of specific diagnostic services given documented equipment issues
Outdoor (OPD) Timing: 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM, except government holidays - please verify
Phone: +88052153881
Email: rangmc@ac.dghs.gov.bd
Answer: As of a September 2023 report, both of the hospital's CT scan machines had been out of order for an extended period, forcing at least some patients needing urgent brain or internal imaging to go without the scan at the hospital. Availability should be confirmed directly with the hospital before relying on it for an urgent case.
Answer: Hospital figures cited in 2023 reporting put average daily admissions at around 2,000 patients, against the hospital's sanctioned capacity of 1,000 beds.
Answer: Its foundation stone was laid in 1969, and the medical college formally began operations on 18 March 1970, making it one of the older and larger government medical colleges in Bangladesh.
Answer: Reporting has traced part of the issue to a batch of heavy equipment purchased from a single vendor in the early 2010s that became largely dysfunctional within about a year, along with later allegations of a procurement syndicate controlling requisition deals and, in a separate 2018 case, an Anti-Corruption Commission charge against the college's then principal over the purchase of substandard equipment.
Answer: It functions as the main referral hospital for eight districts in North Bengal, Rangpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, and Gaibandha, together home to more than 20 million people.
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