The only government-run Mother and Child Welfare Centre in Bagerhat has long been falling to deliver the services it was meant to provide.

Severe infrastructure decay, chronic shortage of doctors, and multiple vacant posts have left thousands of mothers and newborns without the care they urgently need.

Set up in 1981 as a 20-bed facility on Alia Madrasa Road in Bagerhat town, the centre has not seen meaningful modernisation in nearly four decades. Despite being the district’s only specialised facility for maternity and infant health, it continues to operate with outdated equipment, a dilapidated building, and far fewer staff than required.

During a recent early-morning visit to the centre, this correspondent found pregnant women and mothers with sick infants arriving from distant villages, only to leave without receiving any treatment.

Mehedi Hasan of Afra village in Kachua upazila said he brought his young child to the centre but had to return home as no doctor was available. “We waited, but eventually we had to leave,” he said.

Kakoli Begum of Harikhali faced a similar ordeal. She brought her child to collect an immunisation card, but the responsible officer was absent. “I had no choice but to go back,” she said.

Residents say the quality of healthcare has sharply declined over the years. Pabitra Das Mitra of Sangdia village in Kachua said, “There used to be good doctors here and we received proper treatment. Nowadays, you can hardly find a doctor at all.”

Sub-Assistant Medical Officer Nazma Akhter said the building itself poses a danger to both staff and patients. “The structure is so worn out that we provide services at risk. If the shortage of doctors and staff is addressed, we could improve the quality of care,” she said.

The centre has approval for only eight posts — two doctors, a family planning inspector, two nursing attendants, a peon-cum-guard, a driver and a cleaner — against its 20-bed capacity. But several posts remain vacant for a long time.

Dr Masud Al Imran, medical officer (additional responsibility), said the absence of specialist doctors is especially regrettable for mothers and newborns.

“We struggle to manage neonatal and maternal cases. When a caesarean section is needed, we have to refer patients to the district hospital,” he said. “To provide adequate care, doctors and nurses must be appointed immediately.”

Md Bashirul Basir Khan, deputy director of the Directorate of Family Planning in Bagerhat, acknowledged the shortcomings. “The shortage of doctors and nurses exists in Mother and Child Welfare Centres across the country,” he said. “We have informed higher authorities about the need to rebuild unsafe buildings. An allocation for renovation has already been received, and work will begin soon,” he said.

He added that due to the vacant posts, one medical officer and one nurse have been attached from other facilities to keep services running.