Mugda Medical College and Hospital serves as a major healthcare center for the large population of Dhaka South. As the number of fever and cold patients has increased in recent times, the hospital is under added pressure. It is now operating with twice its intended patient capacity. The healthcare system at the hospital is struggling to cope. As doctors and nurses are under intense pressure, the quality of care is also being disrupted.
The 500-bed Mugda Medical College and Hospital is well known for dengue treatment. Every year during the dengue season, patients from Dhaka and other parts of the country arrive here for treatment. Although the prevalence of dengue is lower this time around compared to previous years, seasonal fever and cold are more widespread. Patients with viral fever and other illnesses are crowding the hospital’s medicine ward from both the capital and across the country. As of August 12 afternoon, more than 1,000 patients were admitted, with the highest number in the medicine ward.
According to hospital sources, the medicine ward has 80 beds but currently holds over 300 patients. During a visit, it was seen that due to the excess number of patients, many were being treated on mattresses spread on dirty floors in the hospital’s corridors.
Jui Akter, a resident of Rampura, was admitted to the medicine ward yesterday with a fever. She is now receiving treatment in a bed in the corridor. Her husband, Md Ashik, said, “The medical services here are very poor. When we call the nurses, they don’t respond. If we want to understand something, they don’t explain it properly.”
Qatar expatriate Md Zahid Hossain came to the hospital with his father-in-law, Golap Hossain. Expressing deep frustration over the hospital’s mismanagement, he shared, “I have not been here for long. There is no way to use the toilets. There are hundreds of people, and very few toilets. And the ones available are not even usable.”
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), out of the hospital’s 500 beds, 453 are currently in use. These include 10 beds in physiotherapy, 20 in NICU, 10 in psychiatry, 20 in orthopedic surgery, 10 in hepatology, 5 in endocrinology, 10 in general ophthalmology, 10 in ENT, 5 in dentistry, 40 in nephrology, 59 in pediatrics, 5 in pediatric surgery, 60 in general surgery, 10 in respiratory medicine, 10 in gastroenterology, 10 in urology, 59 in medicine, 40 in cardiology, and 60 in gynecology.
Sources at the medicine ward said the ward currently has over 300 patients but only three functioning toilets, which means there is just one toilet for every 100 patients. There are another three to four toilets, but they are unusable. Patients are forced to use these in unhygienic conditions, and some are even using bathrooms as toilets. Patients and their relatives complained that the stench and filth are so foul that even healthy people could fall sick. They also said the hospital authorities have taken no action in this regard.
“Another source of suffering at the hospital is the elevator service,” complained Akhi Akter, a relative of a patient. “Only two elevators are working. There is no separate elevator for patients. You have to stand in a long line and push your way in with everyone else. My father is a stroke patient. I requested many people, but no one gave us space in the elevator. After a long wait, we finally got in. Because of weak hospital management, patients are facing hardship,” she shared.
Speaking to Bonik Barta regarding the overall situation, Dr. Md Nurul Islam, Deputy Director of Mugda Medical College and Hospital, said, “We are facing some difficulties in running the hospital with double the number of patients. But there has never been an instance where a patient had to leave without receiving treatment. Even though our patient numbers are rising, the number of doctors and nurses is not increasing. We are adjusting here and there to continue providing services.”