& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

SHER-E-BANGLA MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL IN BARISAL

Emergency ward failing in its purpose

Crippled by shortage of doctors, equipment

Jahir Islam Jewel, Jhalakathi
When Jahid Hossain, a pickup truck driver, rushed her ailing sister to the emergency ward of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal (SBMCH), he had high hopes of getting immediate attention of a doctor.
Assisted by two of his friends, Jahid brought his unconscious sister to the hospital from Dargabari area, some 2km away from the hospital. As soon as he entered the premises, his hopes faded away when he could not find any doctor to attend his sister.
"After waiting for over fifteen minutes, the only doctor of the department, who was in the fresh room at that time, arrived to check my sister," Jahid said.
After some primary examination, the doctor instructed Jahid to admit her to the hospital.
Then he helplessly looked for a trolley all around the emergency ward, but when he could not find any, Jahid picked up his sister in his arms and took her to the ward.
For quite a while now, the emergency ward of SBMCH is not only understaffed, but also is suffering from a lack of necessary equipment. Due to rotation in duty, only one doctor and two assistant staff members are available at the ward at any given moment.
Around the same time, village doctor Kamal Hossain was also struggling to get medical assistance at the emergency ward for his sister-in-law.
The woman who had just given birth was bleeding profusely, and it took Kamal almost two hours to reach SBMCH from Charbaria village in Barisal sadar upazila.
Kamal faced similar problems like Jahid, and they both said it was a common scenario in the ward, adding that it lacks most of the
facilities required for emergency care.
Patients and their relatives alleged that the crisis is created by the hospital authorities, who want patients to suffer and then in desperation move to a private hospital.
They further went on to say the hospital authorities do it to cater to their “ulterior motives". While asked, the hospital officials rejected such claims.
Around 450 to 500 patients are referred to the 1,000-bed SBMCH through its emergency ward daily, while some 50-70 others get on-spot treatment, according to the information provided by the ward's administration desk.
Patients have to report to the emergency ward before they are admitted to the hospital, said Shahadad Hossain, a doctor of the ward. "It's our job to examine the patient here before we refer him or her to the respective ward, "he added.
The government allotted only 10 doctors to the emergency ward of SBMCH since its inception in 1968, said Dr Das Ranabir, another doctor of the ward, but five of the posts have remained vacant for the last two years.
"This means we have to take a double workload, and we work round the clock to attend to the patients, but still it is not enough," he added.
About the equipment, a medical staffer said the ward has only five trolleys, which is inadequate.
"If a trolley is occupied to transfer a patient to the fourth floor of the hospital, it will take 10 minutes to return and take another on board, which means
critical patients queue up, hence prompt treatment is delayed," the staffer said, seeking anonymity.
Dr Md Bakir Hossain, the recently appointed director of SBMCH, said the crisis in the emergency ward has been taken into cognisance and will be addressed accordingly.
“SBMCH is the only state-run specialised hospital in the division, and its emergency ward needs immediate attention. We are working to get it into shape to serve our patients better," he said.
"We cannot increase the number of doctors beyond 10 in our emergency
ward unless we have an instruction from the government, ” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Md Mahbubur Rahman, the divisional director of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Barisal, said the hospital has a crisis of doctors which needs to be resolved immediately.
"We will try to fill the vacant posts as soon as possible, and we hope to recruit from the 36th BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) batch."
About the equipment and other essentials, the authorities said they will look into the matter and take appropriate steps as soon as possible.