Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=104175
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Most hospitals not yet fit to fight flu
12 fresh swine flu infection reported
The government's swine flu management system seems to have failed to keep pace with the increasing number of patients as most of the 15 hospitals brought under the system are yet to set up separate corners at their outdoor departments.
The government has made repeated declarations on preparing these 15 public and private hospitals for swine flu management with trained manpower, but patients with flu-like illness are still suffering badly to get treatment from these hospitals.
The number of swine flu patients in the country meanwhile stood at 259 yesterday with 12 more reported cases.
A 25-year-old woman from Savar was admitted to the 10-bed isolation ward of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in a critical condition while three were admitted to National Institute for Disease of Chest and Hospital (NIDCH) and one at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) yesterday.
Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque also expressed dissatisfaction with the swine flu management system at DMCH after a visit there yesterday.
Even the government's awareness campaign has still remained ineffective. The health ministry held several meetings with the information ministry regarding the campaign, but it is yet to get a boost.
No banner with awareness messages was found at the DMCH outdoor department while counselling service was completely absent.
Except Dhaka Shishu Hospital, none of the hospitals the government declared to be providing treatment to patients with swine flu or flu-like illness put up such banners.
The health minister yesterday told The Daily Star that the government has completed a process to start massive awareness campaign, which will be aired within a day or two.
Meanwhile, health professionals at DMCH complained that they are yet to get enough antiviral drugs for treating patients and N95 masks for their own protection.
Hospitals like BSMMU, NIDCH and BIRDEM are yet to set up separate corners at their outdoor departments, which poses the risk of rapid spread of the infection in the hospitals themselves.
A dengue patient at BSMMU complained that patients with flu-like illness were seen without any mask buying tickets along with others.
Many relatives said from newspapers they came to learn that certain hospitals are providing treatment for swine flu but employees of those medical centres denied it.
They also expressed dissatisfaction with the government's management system of the deadly disease, which has already taken a pandemic turn claiming lives of more than a thousand people across the globe.
"The government should be more advanced in tackling the infection as the virus entered the country more than two months ago," said an aggrieved relative of a patient who had a bitter experience at several hospitals while seeking treatment.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Most hospitals not yet fit to fight flu
12 fresh swine flu infection reported
The government's swine flu management system seems to have failed to keep pace with the increasing number of patients as most of the 15 hospitals brought under the system are yet to set up separate corners at their outdoor departments.
The government has made repeated declarations on preparing these 15 public and private hospitals for swine flu management with trained manpower, but patients with flu-like illness are still suffering badly to get treatment from these hospitals.
The number of swine flu patients in the country meanwhile stood at 259 yesterday with 12 more reported cases.
A 25-year-old woman from Savar was admitted to the 10-bed isolation ward of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in a critical condition while three were admitted to National Institute for Disease of Chest and Hospital (NIDCH) and one at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) yesterday.
Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque also expressed dissatisfaction with the swine flu management system at DMCH after a visit there yesterday.
Even the government's awareness campaign has still remained ineffective. The health ministry held several meetings with the information ministry regarding the campaign, but it is yet to get a boost.
No banner with awareness messages was found at the DMCH outdoor department while counselling service was completely absent.
Except Dhaka Shishu Hospital, none of the hospitals the government declared to be providing treatment to patients with swine flu or flu-like illness put up such banners.
The health minister yesterday told The Daily Star that the government has completed a process to start massive awareness campaign, which will be aired within a day or two.
Meanwhile, health professionals at DMCH complained that they are yet to get enough antiviral drugs for treating patients and N95 masks for their own protection.
Hospitals like BSMMU, NIDCH and BIRDEM are yet to set up separate corners at their outdoor departments, which poses the risk of rapid spread of the infection in the hospitals themselves.
A dengue patient at BSMMU complained that patients with flu-like illness were seen without any mask buying tickets along with others.
Many relatives said from newspapers they came to learn that certain hospitals are providing treatment for swine flu but employees of those medical centres denied it.
They also expressed dissatisfaction with the government's management system of the deadly disease, which has already taken a pandemic turn claiming lives of more than a thousand people across the globe.
"The government should be more advanced in tackling the infection as the virus entered the country more than two months ago," said an aggrieved relative of a patient who had a bitter experience at several hospitals while seeking treatment.