Lack of manpower and logistic support is badly affecting the government’s commitment of ensuring health for all and holding back the health services in Chittagong district.
The District Civil Surgeon (CS) Office which runs 16 health complexes with nearly 1000 beds and 595 community clinics in 14 upazilas of the district is plagued with multifarious problems and limping to extend desired health services to the impoverished people of the rural areas.
Lack of anaesthetists, nurses, pharmacists, X-ray technicians, has thwarted most upazila health complexes in the district in normal delivery of the expecting mothers. X-ray, some pathological test, surgery on delivery cases remained closed for over a year, in most of the health complexes depriving thousands of emergency patients arriving in the hospital every day of proper treatment.
CS office sources said more than 800 X-ray and over 500 delivery cases on an average are required for emergency treatment every day in the upazilas but most of the times those out patients remained unattended for want of anaesthetists and X-ray technicians.
“Many of the admitted patients, mostly poor, are waiting for X-ray reports for months because X-ray diagnosis is yet to run properly for lack of Technicians,” the sources added. “But, in some cases we have to bring on deputation or hire anaesthetists, technicians and nurses from elsewhere to meet the emergency need,” the sources said.
Besides, city’s century-old Andarkilla General Hospital , located on Rangmahal Hill and run by civil surgeon office of Chittagong has also fallen into manpower crisis after turning it into a 250-bed from 150 one.
Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Sharfaraj Khan said it is now being run as a 250-bed hospital with government approval but it is beset with shortage of manpower.
“Over 1000 to 1200 patients receive outdoor treatments, 230 to 250 patients are admitted for the indoor treatments and nearly 40 surgical operations are being carried out in the hospital every day”, he added.
He said the CS office is running the 250-bed hospital with the logistics and manpower strength provided to the organogram of a 150-bed one.
“We have sent reminders to the ministry several times for implementing new organogram and creating new posts,” he said. The Health Minister Mohammad Nasim was also informed of the manpower shortage during his recent visit to Chittagong, he said.
Doctors and specialists were of the view that proper attention of the government and other relevant authorities to appoint required manpower and ensure other logistics can easily turn the upazila health complexes into better service orientated ones and ease the sufferings of the rural poor patients. Meanwhile, 299 newly appointed doctors were posted to different union and upazila level health complexes and medical centres in the district.
The CS also said the government would ensure the physicians’ presence in the hospitals through monitoring system as the government expects to ensure better healthcare facilities to the rural people.
The facilities of the ten doctors in Chittagong were held up in the last one year for playing truant in their respective work places, the civil surgeon added.
