Patients and their families spend nights at National Cancer Hospital’s gate

As night deepens and the surrounding area empties, the crowd at the gate of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital in Mohakhali, Dhaka, does not diminish. Some have arrived with husbands suffering from throat cancer. Others have traveled from distant districts seeking treatment for their own esophageal tumors. Hoping to consult doctors, undergo tests or secure hospital admission the following day, they have gathered outside the hospital the night before. Some use mats as beds while others spread plastic sheets on the ground. Bags or small pillows serve as headrests. Some are preparing to spend the night on sheets brought from home. Despite their illnesses, they wait amid mosquitoes and unsanitary conditions in the hope of receiving medical care.

During visits to the hospital on October 13 and 14, it was observed that some people were spreading mats in the open space outside the hospital while others were laying out plastic sheets to sleep on.

Some were also cleaning their own spaces to prepare for the night. Some held doctors’ prescriptions while others carried medical test reports. Their faces reflected exhaustion and uncertainty about whether they would receive treatment. These patients and their relatives have come from distant places and have nowhere to stay in Dhaka. Unable to find space inside the hospital, they are forced to spend the night outside.

Patients complained that completing various medical tests as advised by doctors after collecting a ticket can take seven to 10 days. Even after cancer is diagnosed and doctors recommend hospital admission, they must wait for a bed. This delays the start of treatment. Already anxious about treating this complicated disease, patients and their families face additional hardship because of the shortage of beds.

Safura Begum, who came from Jamalpur, alleged that patients have to pay brokers to get admitted to the hospital. She said, “It is difficult to get admitted here without paying money. Many people who arrived after me have already been admitted.”

Rahima Begum came from Gaibandha with her husband, Rahat Hossain, who has throat cancer. Since he was scheduled to see a doctor the following day, they had to arrive at the hospital a day early. Unable to find space inside, they were preparing to spend the night outside. Rahima Begum said, “There was no space inside because it was crowded. So we lay down here.” Like them, many patients and relatives were seen arranging mats and plastic sheets to spend the night.

Sixty year old Amena Khatun arrived at the hospital by ambulance from Khulna. She has been diagnosed with an esophageal tumor. Unable to find a place to stay, she sat in front of the emergency department. She took out puffed rice wrapped in cloth from her bag and ate it. Waiting for a long time despite her illness, Amena said, “I have come here knowing I will have to suffer. This is no place to stay. I haven’t even had breakfast.” She brought a quilt, mattress and pillow with her to spend the night.

Arif came to Dhaka from Netrokona with his wife and their 60 year old father, Akkas Mia. After his father was diagnosed with an esophageal tumor, the family sought treatment locally. Later, the father and son traveled from one hospital to another in Dhaka. Eventually, they arrived at the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital. However, uncertainty over admission persisted even there. Akkas Mia’s wife said, “We don’t know anyone here. We are also facing many problems getting him admitted.”

Akkas Mia cannot swallow food. His illness has also left him physically weak. Expressing his helplessness, he said, “If Allah does not grant me more life, I will go to Him.” However, his son Arif is not willing to give up trying to save his father. He said he would continue trying to save his father for as long as he remained alive.

Those concerned identify the hospital’s shortage of beds and staff as major reasons for the suffering of patients. Hospital officials said an admitted patient stays in the hospital for an average of one to one and a half months. As a result, beds do not become available quickly. Meanwhile, new patients arrive every day seeking admission. Alongside the shortage of beds, there are also shortages of doctors, nurses and other staff. Consequently, some patients waiting for admission are forced to remain outside the hospital.

Dr. Mostafa Aziz Sumon, director of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital, said, “Our hospital has very few staff members. We have the capacity to properly manage patients in 300 beds, but we are providing services to 700 beds’ worth of patients, including those receiving outpatient care. This has created various problems. However, we are trying our best to resolve them.”

He said a proposal to increase the hospital’s bed capacity to 700 had been approved to reduce pressure from patients. There are also plans to increase the capacity to 1,000 beds later.

The hospital director said there was also a shortage of medicine. He said, “The government allocation for the hospital is very low. There are no supplies, which is why patients are not receiving medicine.” However, he claimed that despite the shortage, the hospital provides patients with nearly 80 percent of their required medicines.

The director also said government gas supplies for cooking food for patients had been suspended for a month. The hospital has been forced to use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) through its own arrangements. He added that the government was not reimbursing the cost of this fuel either.

The gap between demand for cancer treatment and the country’s capacity to provide it is also a major concern. According to the Bangladesh Cancer Society, there are currently 1.3 million to 1.5 million cancer patients in the country. Around 200,000 people develop cancer every year and approximately 150,000 die from the disease.

Meanwhile, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) GLOBOCAN 2020 estimates, Bangladesh records approximately 156,000 new cancer cases and around 108,000 deaths annually. According to the IARC, 187,263 people in Bangladesh were newly diagnosed with cancer in 2024. During the same period, 138,906 people died from the disease. Esophageal cancer affects the largest number of people in the country, followed by lung cancer in second place and stomach cancer in third.

Hospital sources said approximately 1,000 patients visit the outpatient department of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital every day, while around 50 are admitted. Questions remain about whether the existing infrastructure and workforce are sufficient to manage the enormous number of patients.

The government has taken an initiative to build specialized hospitals at the divisional level to ease the pressure on cancer treatment services. Dr. M. A. Muhith, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, told the third session of the National Parliament that the government hopes to fully operationalize the cancer, kidney and heart disease hospitals under construction in the country’s eight divisional cities by the next fiscal year. He said, “It is because of the severe cancer situation that we are giving this disease special importance.”

However, alongside plans to increase the number of hospital beds, it is essential to address existing shortages of staff and medicine as well as problems with the admission process. Otherwise, patients who come seeking treatment will continue to endure the hardship of spending nights at the hospital gate, a relative of a patient who visited the hospital commented.