Reza Mahmud :
The capital’s Mugda Medical College Hospital is facing humanitarian crises, as huge number of Covid-19 patients are desperately trying to get admission there beyond its capacity.
As a result the hospital authorities are finally admitting more patients after failing to avoid humanitarian appeals.
“We are facing serious humanitarian situation. Covid-19 patients and their relatives’ crying are really unbearable to us. In these circumstances, we are admitting more patients beyond our capacity. We are accommodating the extra patients setting beds in the open spaces of wards and trying our utmost to assist them with medical care,” Dr. Asim Kumar Nath, Director of the hospital, told The New Nation on Saturday.
He said that they have a plan to add 30 more beds soon.
Replying to a query, the director said, there are no central oxygen supply system for extra beds.
We are trying to establish central oxygen supply system for those beds in the expanded zones of the hospital. The work is going fast and hopefully it will be completed within a week, he added.
While visiting the hospital on Saturday at noon, it was found that the officials of emergency unit of Covid-19 were busy with talking to patients’ relatives’.
The dash board it was showing that there are 329 beds dedicated for the Covid-19 patients while it had already admitted 335 patients.
They admitted six patients beyond their capacity.
Besides, the 19 ICU beds are full with the serious nature of patients. The hospital director said, they have no answer if any one of the general beds covid patients turn serious and have to get admit in ICU beds.
The officials said they have disappointed many patients as there were no vacant beds to admit any more.
“We have repeatedly said the people carried patients there though there were no vacant room. We become tired of similar requests from other patient’s relatives within minutes,” said a Medical Officer sitting in the emergency unit preferring not to be named as she is not proper person to make a comment on this issue. The doctor said, “The repeated appeals from the patients’ side and the similar replies from us is a regular phenomena started from the March this year after increasing the cases.”
It is not only Saturday day, the hospital is taking extra patients frequently after the increasing number of cases found.
In a press release of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on April 4 last it was found that the hospital admitted 311 covid patients while its capacity was 310 beds.
The hospital director said it has been increased beds capacity several times. The other officials of the hospital said the Mugda, Gopibagh, Titipara and the sounding areas are vulnerable for the Covid-19 spreading.
“These are highly density areas where huge number of people live. So, they are posing serious risks of fast spreading of the deadly disease,” said one of the officials requesting for anonymity.
