UNB, Shariatpur :
Shariatpur Sadar Hospital falls short of its mandate to provide round-the-clock healthcare services due to alleged negligence of doctors, nurses and medical staff.
Although doctors and hospital staff are somewhat available during the day, the situation turns wrong for the patients at night. The hospital runs without any doctor every night even though the emergency department is supposed to be open for 24 hours.
The nurses and hospital staff are also not available at times of need at night.
During a recent visit to the hospital, the UNB correspondent came to know about the nightmare suffered by two pregnant women there at times of emergency.
Sheuli Begum, wife of Jalal Fakir from Naria upazila’s Rajnagar Malotkandi village, was in labour and came to the hospital in the afternoon to find the emergency department closed.
Although she got admitted to the hospital, not a single staff came forward in her aid during her final moments of labour. Later, a midwife came to help Sheuli deliver her baby girl on the corridor in front of the emergency department, though midwifes are not allowed to work in hospitals.
Medical services in hospitals are to be provided by registered doctors and trained nurses and hospital staff only.
Pointing to the presence of a midwife in a hospital, Sheuli’s husband Jalal Fakir said, “If midwifes do the job, what good are the hospital staff for?”
Jalal told UNB that Sheuli gave birth to two boys earlier but no one of them survived. Hence, the birth of this child was crucial for the family.
He went on to add that his wife, Sheuli, did not get any proper medical service at the hospital which is unacceptable.
Jalal alleged that a hospital cleaner and a messenger also misbehaved with him and his wife when they sought their help. Jalal has already lodged a written complaint with the district’s civil surgeon in this connection.
Panna Begum, another pregnant woman, came to the hospital from Bhadda village of Bijhari union in Naria upazila. She was admitted to the hospital with severe labour pain. Around 1am, her final labour pain kicked off but there was nobody to attend to her. Panna’s relatives frantically searched for nurses and other hospital staff but the nurses were not interested to provide any service and instead misbehaved with the relatives.
Panna Begum had to lie down in the labour room with immense pain for more than 1 hour. Around 2.30am, she was able to deliver her baby with the help of her relatives.
Later, after hearing much fuss, the nurses came to see the baby already born and quickly placed it on a bed. But due to the nurses’ negligence, the baby fell down from the bed.
Talking to UNB, a tearful Panna said, “First they made me suffer while I was in labour. The hospital staff did not come forward to help me when I needed them the most. And now, my newly born delicate baby had to endure injury from the fall just because the nurses were busy doing other works instead of caring of my baby. This is totally unacceptable.”
“I wonder if these nurses are actually mothers themselves, otherwise how they can be so cruelly inattentive to their duties?” an angry Panna questioned.
The hospital’s senior nurse, Archana Di Costa, was not available for comment about this incident despite repeated attempts to contact her over mobile phone.
Dr Sheikh Mostafa Khokon, the resident medical officer of the hospital, told UNB, “For the first incident, the patient was admitted straight away after being brought to the hospital. As for the second incident, I don’t know the much detail.”
Contacted, Shariatpur’s civil surgeon Dr Md Moshiur Rahman said he had not received any complaint in connection with the two incidents.
Appropriate actions will be taken against the concerned hospital staff if any such incident took place, he assured.
Besides, there have been complaints about outsiders working at the hospital putting the quality of medical services at stake.
In this regard Dr. Moshiur, said, “It’s illegal for outsiders who are not real medical professionals to work in a hospital. If any such outsider is found, I request others to report it to me instantly. And I’ll see what I can do to take quick actions against them.”
Shariatpur Sadar Hospital falls short of its mandate to provide round-the-clock healthcare services due to alleged negligence of doctors, nurses and medical staff.
Although doctors and hospital staff are somewhat available during the day, the situation turns wrong for the patients at night. The hospital runs without any doctor every night even though the emergency department is supposed to be open for 24 hours.
The nurses and hospital staff are also not available at times of need at night.
During a recent visit to the hospital, the UNB correspondent came to know about the nightmare suffered by two pregnant women there at times of emergency.
Sheuli Begum, wife of Jalal Fakir from Naria upazila’s Rajnagar Malotkandi village, was in labour and came to the hospital in the afternoon to find the emergency department closed.
Although she got admitted to the hospital, not a single staff came forward in her aid during her final moments of labour. Later, a midwife came to help Sheuli deliver her baby girl on the corridor in front of the emergency department, though midwifes are not allowed to work in hospitals.
Medical services in hospitals are to be provided by registered doctors and trained nurses and hospital staff only.
Pointing to the presence of a midwife in a hospital, Sheuli’s husband Jalal Fakir said, “If midwifes do the job, what good are the hospital staff for?”
Jalal told UNB that Sheuli gave birth to two boys earlier but no one of them survived. Hence, the birth of this child was crucial for the family.
He went on to add that his wife, Sheuli, did not get any proper medical service at the hospital which is unacceptable.
Jalal alleged that a hospital cleaner and a messenger also misbehaved with him and his wife when they sought their help. Jalal has already lodged a written complaint with the district’s civil surgeon in this connection.
Panna Begum, another pregnant woman, came to the hospital from Bhadda village of Bijhari union in Naria upazila. She was admitted to the hospital with severe labour pain. Around 1am, her final labour pain kicked off but there was nobody to attend to her. Panna’s relatives frantically searched for nurses and other hospital staff but the nurses were not interested to provide any service and instead misbehaved with the relatives.
Panna Begum had to lie down in the labour room with immense pain for more than 1 hour. Around 2.30am, she was able to deliver her baby with the help of her relatives.
Later, after hearing much fuss, the nurses came to see the baby already born and quickly placed it on a bed. But due to the nurses’ negligence, the baby fell down from the bed.
Talking to UNB, a tearful Panna said, “First they made me suffer while I was in labour. The hospital staff did not come forward to help me when I needed them the most. And now, my newly born delicate baby had to endure injury from the fall just because the nurses were busy doing other works instead of caring of my baby. This is totally unacceptable.”
“I wonder if these nurses are actually mothers themselves, otherwise how they can be so cruelly inattentive to their duties?” an angry Panna questioned.
The hospital’s senior nurse, Archana Di Costa, was not available for comment about this incident despite repeated attempts to contact her over mobile phone.
Dr Sheikh Mostafa Khokon, the resident medical officer of the hospital, told UNB, “For the first incident, the patient was admitted straight away after being brought to the hospital. As for the second incident, I don’t know the much detail.”
Contacted, Shariatpur’s civil surgeon Dr Md Moshiur Rahman said he had not received any complaint in connection with the two incidents.
Appropriate actions will be taken against the concerned hospital staff if any such incident took place, he assured.
Besides, there have been complaints about outsiders working at the hospital putting the quality of medical services at stake.
In this regard Dr. Moshiur, said, “It’s illegal for outsiders who are not real medical professionals to work in a hospital. If any such outsider is found, I request others to report it to me instantly. And I’ll see what I can do to take quick actions against them.”
