Mymensingh Medical College Hospital
Medicine dept struggles to cope with patients
A mother fans his ailing son on the floor at a corridor of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital that struggles to cope with a large number of treatment seekers due to accommodation problem.Photo: STAR
The medicine department of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) is struggling to give medical service to a large number of treatment seekers due to lack of accommodation and other facilities. There are three units, having a total of 72 beds for patients, under the medicine department of MMCH but the number of admitted patients often exceeds 3-4 times of the usual accommodation capacity, said a nurse at medicine unit-2. During a visit to the medicine ward last week, this correspondent saw many patients lying on the floor of the ward and the adjacent corridor. The atmosphere is far from being congenial for suitable medical treatment as huge rush of patients and their attendants makes the ward noisy and chaotic, said several patients. Sirajul Islam, 80, who was admitted to the hospital with a heart attack on June 5, was seen in the corridor of medicine unit-2 due to accommodation problem at the ward. "It is impossible to stay inside the ward due to unbearably hot atmosphere," said Nayan, a relative of Sirajul who came from Shyahala village in Purbadhala of Netrakona district. Mainuddin, 60, of Kaziramati in Netrakona Sadar, was admitted under the medicine ward of MMCH on June 1 with old age complications. Since the admission he had been staying at the corridor due to lack of space, said his wife Maheda. Another patient of the Medicine Ward Nayeb Ali, 80, of Mashakhali in Gafargaon uapzila, was also found in the corridor. Patients at the corridor of the medicine ward were seen to be fanned by their relatives. When contacted, MMCH Director Brig Gen Dr Mohammad Shahjahan said they have to admit much larger number of patients than the seat capacity of the hospital on humanitarian grounds as many patients do not have the ability to take treatment anywhere other than a government hospital. The number of admitted patients in the 500-bed hospital is around 1500, he said, adding that daily admission ranges from 250 to 300 and the rush is comparatively higher at the Medicine Ward. "A 500-bed extension of MMCH is ready to be inaugurated. We hope it will start functioning this year after appointment of necessary doctors and staffs soon. Then the hospital will be able to serve the treatment seekers better," he said.
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