Rangpur, Aug. 11 -- For critically ill patients at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, the wait for an intensive care unit (ICU) bed can be a matter of life and death.

With millions of people depending on a single major referral hospital and only 10 ICU beds available, the shortage remains a critical challenge for healthcare in northern Bangladesh.

For patients in critical condition, however, the consequences of the shortage are measured not in statistics but in hours-and sometimes in lives lost while waiting.

The hospital, the largest referral healthcare facility in Rangpur division, serves around 1.80 crore people across eight northern districts.

With 2,000-3,000 patients admitted on average at any given time, at least 10 percent are ...