One of the injured passengers trying to communicate with his near and dear ones over cell-phone while undergoing treatment at DMCH Burn Unit on Wednesday. — FE Photo
The government has issued fresh instructions to all public medical college hospitals to ready their designated wards for burn patients in the backdrop of the ongoing political turmoil.
Professor Shamiul Islam, Director (hospital) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said: "With the growing homicidal attacks on people we have instructed all the old medical college hospitals (MCHs) and several other new ones to take preparations for providing instant treatment to burn patients."
He said the decision was taken in a bid to reduce the rush of burn victims to Dhaka by providing instant treatment to them in those hospitals nearby.
The number of burn victims is increasing fast amid the rising arson attacks during the ongoing nationwide blockade coupled with frequent hartal calls as tensions have heightened on the political front with the 20-party alliance demanding talks on how to hold a free and fair election.
Apart from the public medical college hospitals, he said Kurmitola, Mughda, Narayanganj and Gazipur hospitals were instructed to ready a 20-bed burn unit each.
The health official said currently the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) burn unit was overburdened as more than 650 burn patients were admitted there against its 150-bed capacity.
He also said: "We have already provided Tk 10.05 million (1,005 crore) extra, medicines, intensive care equipment and other logistics to the DMCH burn unit and there is every day monitoring by health officials."
The DGHS official said every public medical college hospital does have their own fund as the government allocates so. At this moment it is not necessary to arrange more funds for the hospitals to which the instructions have been given.
According to physicians at the DMCH burn unit, in the last thirty days a total of 111 burn patients were admitted. Of them, eight died and 43 were discharged after treatment.
According to DMCH sources, of the six critically burnt patients admitted on Wednesday, one died and several others were in a critical condition.
A physician in the capital's Mughda Para Government Hospital said: "We have already arranged our available facilities as per the government instruction to treat the burn patients and we will have prepared a list of required medicines and equipment".
According to a physician at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, the designated ward for treating burn patients there was not fully functional.
He said in the present situation it was made fully functional so that the burn patients can get treatment there.
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