Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
The government has allocated Tk 36.47 crore additional funds to six State-run hospitals in Dhaka as those hospitals are overflowing with dengue patients.
Of the amount, Tk 15.60 crore has been allocated to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Tk 6.62 crore to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Tk 4.10 crore to Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, Tk 3.70 crore to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, Tk 3.55 crore to Kurmitola General Hospital and Tk 2.90 crore to Mugda General Hospital.
Officials said, the Ministry of Finance allocated the fund recently after the Health Services Division, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, issued demand letter, seeking the additional fund for proper treatment of the rising number of dengue patients.
Admitting the matter, Secretary for the Health Services Division Md Asadul Islam told The New Nation yesterday that the Finance Ministry has approved the additional allocation in light with our demand.
“The fund will be utilised for buying medicine, salutary, cleanness supplies and security services to ensure proper medicare of dengue patients,” he said.
Asadul Islam further said that public hospitals in Dhaka have seen a surge in dengue patients following the outbreak of Aedes mosquito-borne disease. Those hospitals were run out of beds following the rush of the patients and even patients were got admitted to hospital’s verandas and walkways, putting their facilities and resources under severe stress.
“So, we sought additional fund from the government to cope up with the emergency situation,” he added.
The government has allocated Tk 25,732 crore for the two wings of the Health Ministry — Health Services Division and Health Education and Family Welfare Division — for the current fiscal year (2019-20).
Of the amount, Tk 1,518 crore earmarked for the above mentioned six hospitals in Dhaka, with Tk 253 crore per hospital.
The country is in the grip of an unprecedented dengue fever outbreak this year, and the capital Dhaka is the worst hit, with city hospitals — both public and private — have seen a record number of dengue affected patients.
Currently, a total of 3,411 dengue patients are undergoing treatment at different hospitals and clinics in Dhaka.
A majority of the patients have been admitted to the State-run hospitals.
Officials of the public hospitals said that they were struggling to provide treatment and accommodate a large number of dengue patients, as those hospitals are lack of adequate facilities and manpower.
Even many other people with symptoms of dengue fever have been queuing up for doctors’ advice at those hospitals every day sending their facilities under severe stress.
Since January this year, about 61,038 patients with dengue fever have been admitted to different hospitals across the country till Friday morning, while 54,956 among them went home after recovery.
