Staff shortages, broken equipment and several times more patients than it was built for are disrupting care at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, Amar Desh reports. The 500-bed hospital has 1,300 to 1,400 inpatients on an average day and 2,000 to 2,500 outpatients. Many patients without a bed are treated on the floor, in verandas and in corridors.
According to the hospital, it has 1,120 sanctioned posts including doctors, of which 954 are filled. Of 218 doctor posts only 130 are filled; 88, about 40 per cent, are vacant. All four first-class nursing posts are empty. The 500-bed hospital is running on the staffing of a 250-bed one.
Several diagnostic machines, including the MRI and CT scanner, are out of order; the MRI has been out of service for about 11 years. Inpatients who need an MRI have to go to private diagnostic centres at their own cost, and because of staff shortages testing sometimes stops by noon, patients say.
Kader Newaz, 70, from Biral upazila, was admitted last week with a neurological problem. His son, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, said the doctor ordered eight to ten tests and all but one blood test had to be done outside. Touts around the gate and the outpatient, pathology and emergency departments steer patients to private clinics, and patients and relatives also complained of dirty stairways and toilets.
The hospital's director, Dr Jahangir Kabir, said staff shortages are disrupting some services. The MRI and CT scanner have been declared condemned and a request for new machines has been sent, he said, and he hopes they will arrive soon; other equipment is working. A staffing structure for 1,000 beds is being prepared to send to the ministry.
The report is from Amar Desh.
Photo: Bhaskar Bhattacharjee barshan / Wikimedia Commons (public domain); Dinajpur Medical College Hospital
Source: Amar Desh
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