Gomostapur health complex has no doctor for long
As the lone doctor, deputed from a union health centre, has to deliver services to the patients at Gomostapur Upazila Health Complex in Chapainawabganj district, outpatients keep waiting for hours in the hospital corridor everyday. Photo: STAR
Gomostapur upazila health complex is limping for want of doctors. The health centre has only one doctor, who was recently deputed from Alinagar union sub-centre. All the nine posts of doctors including that of Residential Medical Officer (RMO) are vacant for long. Although there are nurses in all the nine posts, at least nine posts against 25 other staffs are vacant. On an average, around 400 outpatients come to avail treatment everyday while about a dozen patients remain admitted to the 50-bed health complex. The poor outpatients keep waiting for hours as the lone doctor is often unable to deliver services. He has to attend the inpatients too after coming to his workplace in the morning. By the time he finishes with the inpatients, a large number of outpatients queue up in front of his door. Abdul Hamid, the doctor of the health complex, said it was not humanly possible to deliver healthcare services to so many people alone. “Sometimes patients and their attendants become frustrated as we can not give proper attention to them,” Hamid said. Zaher Ali of Bahipara in Rohonpur municipal area recently came to the health complex for treatment of his wife Eliza Begum. "I waited in front of the doctor's room at outpatient department for nearly three hours before the doctor was able to treat my wife", Zaher told this correspondent. Maksuda Begum of Nadirabad in the same area came at 9:00am to avail treatment for her five-year-old son. It was not before 1 pm that the doctor could see the child. Asma Khatun of Prosadpur came to the hospital for her own treatment. Unable to see a doctor, she returned home without treatment. Lack of healthcare in the state-run health centre is forcing many poor patients to look for treatment elsewhere. In the process of finding an alternative, many patients fall in the trap of middlemen and end up spending huge sums of money, often borrowed from loan sharks, locals alleged. The health complex has an X-Ray machine on its premises which has never been used. The authorities told this correspondent that the machine had needed to be properly connected to get it started and since the wiring was never done. The quarters built for doctors and other staffs within the compound of the complex lie vacant too. Several staffs of the complex now stay on their own arrangements as, what they say, that the rent for the official quarters is too high. Golam Mostofa, mayor of Rohonpur municipality, said that at least 2.5 lakh people live in Gomostapur upazila. But people are deprived of their rights to healthcare due to lack of doctors. “I urge the authorities to please take steps to appoint doctors immediately for the sake of the poor people of the area", he said. Gomostapur upazila health and family planning officer Dr. Ruhul Amin said they sent several letters to the higher authorities concerned, asking for steps to fill up the vacant posts, especially doctors, but it “all fell on deaf ears".
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