Gaps and Needs in Critical Care Services in Bangladesh – Report on Assessment of Health Facilities

Critical care, referred to as intensive care, involves treating and managing injuries and illnesses that are very serious and may be life-threatening. COVID-19 posed unprecedented healthcare system challenges. While only a small percentage of COVID cases become critical and vulnerable to death, the number increases with surges in cases, as seen in varying waves of the pandemic. The critical cases need prompt critical care management at well-equipped Intensive Care Units (ICUs) or High Dependency Units of hospitals. Although Bangladesh has over 1,000 ICU beds, many peripheral medical college hospitals (MCHs) and district hospitals (DHs) do not have adequate readiness and capacity to manage severe and critical cases.

Being concerned, the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) undertook several important steps to improve the intensive care capacity. However, in moving forward to further strengthen critical care services, it was imperative to know the status of capacity to provide these services in designated hospitals. To identify gaps and needs towards strengthening critical care services, Save the Children International (SCI) through USAID’s MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening Project (MaMoni MNCSP): Emergency Response to COVID-19 Pandemic, in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Society of Anaesthesiologists Critical Care and Pain Physicians (BSACCPP), assessed critical care service provision in ICU-designated hospitals. The results were intended to guide appropriate technical assistance to facilities and avoid duplication of resource investment. This document reports the findings of the assessment, which was conducted in 2022 in 73 health facilities designated to provide ICU/HDU service throughout the country.