Eid holidays: Patients in trouble due to manpower shortage

Now Eid holidays are going on across the country. During the vacation, people who come to hospitals for health care have got plunged into suffering due to shortage of manpower of various levels including doctors, nurses and technicians. In particular, they have fallen in a lot of problems in case of any emergency test.

The information was learned after talking to patients and staff at different private hospitals including LabAid, Anwar Khan Modern and Bangladesh Specialized Hospital in the capital on Wednesday (May 04).

Ismail Hossain, a resident of Green Road area, gets tested the sugar every month. On Tuesday (Eid day) he went to Labaid Hospital for three or four more blood tests including the sugar one as it was not done during the month of Ramadan. He found no staff at the counter when he first went to Cardiac department. Later, he went to LabAid’s specialized hospital where he found staff at the counter. After collecting the receipt, he had to wait for a long time for giving the sample as there were found no staff again.

He told risingbd that just before nine in the morning, he came to the hospital with empty stomach for several blood test. No one was found in the hospital there. Even staff was found at the counter here, he had been sitting for about half an hour to give samples, but nobody came to collect the samples. Alongside, they said that the reports will be delivered after two days which are usually handed over in the evening if the samples are given in the morning.

No responsible person was found at the hospital for comment over the matter. After a long wait, Ahiduzzaman, customer care executive at Cardiac Hospital, talked to risingbd. He said, “Counters and sample collection booths were closed in the hospital. However, he said that counters were opened in the nearby branch of the hospital where samples were being collected.

He said, “Most of the staff are on vacation due to Eid vacation. Besides, electric work is going on in the hospital, so it was closed. However, the lab was open. There were a total of 60 patients admitted to the hospital on Eid day.”

On the other hand, a female worker was registering serials for doctors’ appointment. With claiming anonymous, she said, “Most of the doctors will not sit in chambers here until next Friday. The who were visiting the admitted patients? In reply, she said, “I could not say that.”

Swapan Naeem, a relative of a patient said, “My patient was admitted to the ICU. Since Monday, the professors went on leave. Junior doctors had been visiting the patients. However, the number of junior doctors were also much less. I could not always go to the ICU. Doctors became annoyed if they were asked about the condition of the patient on the phone, they did not speak with sincerity. The patient’s condition did not improve, so I was in tension.”

The scenery was not only in LabAid, but also Anwar Khan Modern Hospital and Bangladesh Specialized Hospital in Shyamoli in the capital.