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'American Hospital'struggles to cope with patients

ARUN BIKASH DEY
The Central Skin and Social Hygiene Health Centre, popularly known as American Hospital, in the port city is struggling to cope with the rush of patients due to lack of adequate manpower, logistics and funding.
This public health centre, located at Agrabad, caters around two lakh patients a year through its outdoor service, where only five physicians are posted.
It also lacks third and fourth grade employees as 13 out of 18 posts have been vacant for over a year, said officials. There is no night guard at the health centre. The MLSSs (members of lower subordinate staff) have to perform the duty in addition to their regular responsibilities, they added.
'AMERICAN HOSPITAL'
The health centre, one of the four in South East Asia, was established by World Health Organization (WHO) in 1956 to check skin and venereal or sexually transmitted diseases (VD or STD) among sailors, said veteran dermatologist Prof Dr AQM Serajul Islam, former head of dermatology at Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
Having the largest sea port in the region and frequented by foreign crews, Chattogram was selected for the centre as a full-fledged institute with a modern laboratory and an outdoor service on 2.14 acres of land.
The centre examined and provided STD treatment only to foreign crews in the initial years. It later started examining and providing treatment of both skin diseases and STDs to locals when it started running under the then central government.
In early years, foreign physicians and health workers, mostly from the USA used to provide treatment to patients, and so the health centre is popularly known as American Hospital till date, said Prof Serajul Islam.
Name of the centre spread further with patients thronging there from the city and different districts in the division after the Liberation War.
PRESENT SITUATION
Some 600 patients come to the centre daily for treatment on an average now, said officials.
During a recent visit, this correspondent saw long queues at the outdoor service. Often times, patients have to wait for hours to see a physician.
Sajib Shil, who came from Chandanaish upazila with skin infection, said he bought
a ticket from the outdoor at Tk 5 around 8am and had been waiting for three hours.
'This place has a long-standing reputation for treating skin diseases. I've been here before with my relatives. It's just that you have to wait for hours to get treatment," he said.
Due to manpower constraints and funding, the health centre also lacks proper monitoring and maintenance. Its boundary wall had collapsed at different points.
"The wall got damaged due to calamities in different times. But they are yet to be fixed. Those points have become a safe zone for miscreants, who often engage in antisocial activities there," said Saiful Islam, store officer of the health centre.
If around 600 patients receive treatment at the centre every day, a physician has to see over 100 patients from 8am to 2:30pm.
"To deal with such a huge number of patients day in, day out is exhausting for a doctor," said Dr Surajit Dutta, acting director of the health centre. "It also hinders their ability to concentrate," he added.
"Besides, the post of senior consultant has been vacant for over a year ever since
the previous one retired," he said. "As a result, only five doctors are available at present to see over 600 patients per day," Dr Dutta added.
"We have a laboratory for conducting five types of medical tests but the post of bacteriologist is vacant for many years," he said. "Now a medical officer has to perform the duty of a bacteriologist."
No lab report can be issued without signature of a pathologist or bacteriologist or microbiologist, according to health experts.
Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, former senior clinical pathologist of CMCH, said a medical lab cannot be run without the abovementioned specialists. "It's not only unethical, but also illegal," he added.
Asked, Dr Hasan Shahriar Kabir, director (health) of Chattogram division, said he is aware of the crises at the health centre.
"At present, we do not have adequate doctors to post there... we will get some doctors after the posting of 39th BCS cadres," he said. "I will also write to the health ministry to appoint and create new posts of third and fourth class employees to mitigate the crisis."