One of the country's moot well-equipped hospitals, the recently set up wing of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city Is facing allegations of pool services lor coronary emergencies
Patients, relatives and ex peris alleged that the new hospital lacks a healthy opera tiotial strategy tor patients requiring emergency attention
A patient who was treated at the hospital recently and preferred not to be named, said that from the time of ar rival at the hospital after feel Ing sick in the heart'. U took the doctor at the emergency unit 20 minutes to transfer him upstairs for treatment
'At the emergency unit they did an ECG (Electro Cardiogram)." said the patient, then they asked my relatives to take me upstairs to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) "
The patient said that a wheelchair was pro< ured after a long search In the corridors. A hospital attendant then pushed the wheelchair with the gasping patient on It through the corridors and stairs to the CCU (Coronary Care Unit) upstairs
The attending doctor at the CCU ggve a hastily written prescription and asked his rela-tives to buy the medicines immediately
"AUeast forty minutes had elapsed before I got treatment for my stroke.' said the pa-
tient.
The hospital Is situated on a nine acre plot and the first phase of the three-phase pro ject is over When completed it would have 400 beds and other facilities for a modern cardiovascular InsUtute
At the CCU. anxious rela fives of patients surrounded every bed The electronic monitors blipped ceaselessly while the only two duty nurses kept busy with handful of papers
A visitor at the CCU. who came to see her father, said that the patients' personal at tendants have to do most of the nursing since only two or three nurses are assigned to the unit -Sometimes cock
roaches could lie found creep-inn on the beds " she added.
Some otlicrs aliened that doctors and nurses on duty often engage in loud and noisy conversation inside the mail where comatose patients light for life
Prof Akhivnizzaman, Director <>l lite Institute, told The Daily Star that the hygiene problem at the hospital is due to the unawareness of the patients.
"Patients throw foodstuff and other left-overs everywhere on the floor. This attracts the insects.” he said.
Inside the hospital, no signboards were seen for creating awareness among the patients and their relatives to keep the place clean.
The toilets in the units are dirty and some are broken. In the PCCU (Post Coronary Cardiac Unit), the only toilet with commode facility, vital for patients with arthritis and other physical disability, remains unusable.
The busiest section of the hospital is the outdoor unit. According to hospital officials. .200 to 300 patients with heart ailments visit the unit everyday.
This correspondent saw about 50 men and women waiting. Abdul Majid. 48. a heart patient, who came from Adamjee area to see a specialist. said that he had been wait ing for over two hours to see a doctor.
Among the four doctors attending the unit, only one was present at the time.
According to Prof Akhteruzzaman. when a patient arrives at the hospital, most of the medicines he needs are given free of cost, i . .aided that costly devices as permanent Pacemakers are sometimes implanted without any charge.
The N1CVD offers almost all the treatments and followups at a nominal cost. A patient pays only Tk 5 for admission and Tk 3 for outdoor consultations.
The cabins of the hospital are offered for Tk 140 per day
With 81 doctors, 132 . nurses and 220 other lower grade staff and a range of ultra modern equipment Imported from Japan, the NICVD poa sesaes all the ingredlente of a modern hospital. But its op eratlonal strategies need to be upgraded urgently to prevent it from becoming another sick hospital, sources concerned pointed out.