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Saving Lives of Burn Victims

Burn unit needs better facilities

Staff Correspondent
The burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital needs immediate reinforcement to save the increasing number of arson victims, doctors said at a press conference yesterday.
More nurses and better medical facilities should be made available to prevent patients from developing deadly infections, said veteran burn expert Shamanto Lal Sen.
So far 22 people, who fell prey to the recent political violence, have died at DMCH. Exposure to infections was a major reason behind so many deaths, said Partha Shankar Paul, resident surgeon of the hospital.
"The high inflow of patients is making it impossible for us to keep them isolated and they are at high risk of developing infections," Partha added. The maintenance of the Intensive Care Unit is falling apart because of the pressure.
Optimally there should be at least one nurse for each patient in the ICU, said Shah
Alam Bhuiyan, ICU in-charge, but in real it has only one nurse and one ward boy for all 10 patients undergoing treatment there.
Amid a shortage of nurses, the authorities are forced to allow family attendants in crowding the wards and raising the chances of infection, Shamanto said, adding steps should be taken to prevent intrusion into the ICU and the High Dependency Unit.
The hospital yet operates as a project as, he explained, it has no class four employees responsible for keeping the place sterile.
Arson victim Geeta Sen, who suffered burns when a bus was set ablaze in the capital's Shahbagh on November 28, also said the hospital needed more nurses.
"Nevertheless the hospital has helped me get my life back."
A lack of doctors and surgeons also compromised the quality of service, speakers said at the press conference organised at the hospital. There are only 30 surgeons to deal with all burn cases in the country while international standards suggest seventeen doctors for three patients.
"We are to reschedule other plastic surgeries to accommodate the emergency arson cases," said Sajjad Khondoker, a senior doctor in the burn unit.
The ICU also needs life-saving equipment to see a significant improvement in treatment.
"We are not being able to give our patients hyperbaric oxygen therapy essential for inhalation injuries,” Sajjad said.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves giving pure oxygen at high pressure to patients who sustained burns in their breathing tracts, or have serious infections.
Zulfikar Ali Lelin, director in the Prime Minister's Office, said a plan was in the pipeline to provide aid for rehabilitation of arson victims.
Meanwhile, an auto-rickshaw driver succumbed to his injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital yesterday.
Sahabuddin, 28, sustained 30 percent burns when his vehicle was set on fire in Feni on January 4, a day before the general election.