History
Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute is the largest children hospital in Bangladesh. It is a Government supported tertiary level public hospital for children with 681 beds.
A few months after the liberation of Bangladesh, in March 1972, Dhaka Shishu (Children) hospital, the only children hospital in the country was established. With the help of a few voluntary organizations and the Government of Bangladesh, it first started its services in a private house at Dhanmondi, Dhaka with 50 indoor beds. The out patient department (OPD) of the hospital started in a tent in the nearby area of Sukrabad, Dhaka at the same time. Consistent financial support was received initially from the “Save the Children Fund. UK” and later on from the “World Vision, Bangladesh”.
December 1974 National Economic Council (NEC) of Bangladesh chaired by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, approved a scheme to construct a 250-bed children hospital expandable to 650 beds. Subsequently, in March 1975, with the approval of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh, the site of the project was transferred to the present location at Sher-e-Barigla Nagar, Shyamoli, Dhaka.
Dhaka Shishu Hospital started functioning this premise from June 1977. The construction costs were funded by the government-grants and DSH trust-fund which was gathered from donations, two public lotteries and concerts. A committee formed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh supervised the construction project. Among others, Late Prof. Tofayel Ahmed, the Founder Member Secretary of the Management Board of Dhaka Shishu Hospital, was a member of the construction committee.
In 17th January 2012 Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of a new 9-storied building of the Hospital. At the same time she also inaugurated the Paediatric Cardiac Center with Cardiac Surgery, Cath-lab, & Cardiac ICU facilities which is the first office kind for children in the country.
BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH (BICH)
BICH, the academic wing of Dhaka Shish Hospital was established in 1983 to conduct various paediatric postgraduate courses such as FCPS, MD, MS, DCH along with Deploma in Paediatric Nursing and Bsc Health Technology etc. The institute is affiliated with the University of Dhaka, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University(BSMMU) and the Bangladesh Collage of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS). The Institute has academic and research link with Institute of Child Health, London, UK, Institute of Child Health, Edinburgh, UK, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, US
DEPERTMENTS
Dhaka Shishu Hospital comprises five major divisions e.g. Paediatric Medicine, Paediatric Surgey& Anaesthesia and the Diagnostic Division. Paediatric Medicine consists of Cardiology, Nephrology, Neurology, Child Development & Child Pschycology, Neonatology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Haematology-oncology & Thalassemia, Respiratory Medicine, Endocrinology & Metabolic Disorder, Infectious Diseases and Community Paediatrics, General Paediatrics. Paediatric Surgery includes Neonatal Surgery, Urology, Burn & Reconstuctive Surgery, Paediatric Orthopaedics,& Traumatology, Surgical Oncology, Laparoscopy and ENT Surgery. Diagnostic division includes Microbiology, Clinical Pathology, Biochemistry, Radiology & Imaging.
The intensive Care Unit (ICU) for children, the first of its kind in Bangladesh was established in this hospital in 1992. It has Day Care Centre, Observation & Referral Unit & a well equipped Physiotherpy Department.
The OPD and the Emergency handle a 900-1000 of paediatric patients daily. The OPD includes Medicine, Surgery, ENT, Skin, Dentistry, EPI, CDC, Breast feeding counseling and various follow up clinics. Follow up clinics include Cardiology, Nephrology, Child Development Centre, Neonatology, Growth and Nutrition, TB and Endocrinology. The hospital has two special centres such as Thalassaemia Centre and CDC where patients are receiving specialized treatment. Five beds have been reserved in the Infectious Disease and Community Paediatrics Unit for emergency outbreak e.g. Diarrhoea, Dengue Fever and Swine Flu.
Since taking over charge the present management board decided to improve the quality of different services for which responsibilities for cleaning, pest control and security services have been strengthened. Centralized oxygen supply, computerized accounting system and automated patients admission system, centralized announcing system, audiovisual health education programme for attendants and parents at the OPD, audiovisual orientation for nursing staff have been introduced to improve existing services.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS UNDERTAKEN BY PRESENT MANAGEMENT BOARD
- Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, Cath-Lab & Cardiac ICU.
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
- DNA Lab (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department.)
- Adolescent Paediatrics (Male & Female) Ward.
- Critical Care Nephrology (Kidney) and Dialysis Ward.
- High Dependency and Isolation Unit (HD&I Unit).