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Healthcare left in a holiday mess

Shaheen Mollah and Mahbuba Zannat
Sufferings of patients in the city hospitals mounted during Eid vacation because of shortage of doctors and nurses.
Patients from Savar, Gazipur and Narayanganj had to throng Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) failing to get minimum services from local hospitals and clinics.
Even the tertiary level hospitals like Suhrawardi and Mitford also referred patients to DMCH saying they don't have
anaesthetist and other services because of Eid vacation.
"Most of the doctors and nurses work-in g over the past few days are non - Muslim as the Muslims are on vacationing with their near and dear ones," said Clinical Assistant of the National Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology Rehabilitation (NTTOR) Dr Uttam Kumar Rcry.
He also said the outdoor department wtis closed on the Eid day and the day after the Eid. The Indoor operating theatre- (OT) was also closed during this period
and no pathology test was conducted in thehospital excludingx-ray.
Two nurses and two doctors had to see more than one hundred patients every day at the emergency department.
Even patients at the emergency OT complained they are not getting proper services while the aggrieved relatives of a victim of a road accident at NITOR said that even after five hours of admission the patient received no treatment
Brokers, however, were found active taking patients from the gate of the hospital
SEE PAGE 15 COL 1 FROM PAGE 16
to other clinics on the excuse of non-availability ofdoctors.
"My uncle had an accident at 11:30pm on the Eid day. He was brought to NTTOR but the brokers said he would not get any treatment there for lack of doctors and took us to National Care General Hospital at Mohammadpur," said the victim's relative Sheuli.
Sheuli said the hospital is running with hired doctors and nurses. Even the man doing dressing is also hired.
After spending almost Tk 30,000 there, they brought their patient back to NITOR.
The situation at DMCH is even worse where a huge number of patients sought treatment after being refused at different hospitals due to shortage of staff.
Two nurses, a ward boy, two ayas and four junior doctors were found at the labour ward on the Eid day where normally . 15 to 20 doctors are available.
Shumi Khatun, 21, an expecting mother, was referred to the Suhrawardi Hospital from a clinic at Savar at 7:30am when her labour pain began. But on the plea of not having an anaesthetist they referred her to DMCH.
Finally when the lady was brought to DMCH with severe pain, it was 6:00pm. As she was screaming in unbearable pain shattering the silence of the evening she was told off not to cry.
"Fifteen more patients are there in the labour ward who need immediate attention and it is not possible for us to attend her immediately," said nurses to Shumi's relatives.
"The number of doctors is inadequate because of Eid
vacation and the patients are coming to the hospital in critical condition after wasting time at different hospitals creating a pathetic situation in the labour ward." said an on-duty nurse at the DMCH.
She also said some 74 patients for gynaecological treatment were admitted to the ward on the Eid day, which is normally 50 to 60.
Even the patients who need immediate blood transfusion suffered badly. Because Sandhani, Badhan (voluntary organisations for blood donation) were closed.
DMCH has a blood transfusion centre but it has no blood bank. That is why many of the relatives of the poor patients were forced to buy blood from the professional blood sellers at a high rate.
The hospital authorities, however, denied the allegations saying they could manage the pressure of the patients, as the number of patients was not high because most of the people went to their village homes.
While talking to The Daily Star Director of Mitford Hospital Brig Gen Khademul Ehsan Iqbal said there were consultants in the gynaecology ward and the Operating Theatre is open round the clock.