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The Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) is facing a dire situation as its Burn and Plastic Surgery Department experiences a shortfall of manpower and beds, disrupting medical services for patients.
With an average of more than 40 patients in a unit of just 24 beds, it is no surprise that patients are left to endure unsanitary conditions on the floor-exacerbating an already trying situation.
The lack of adequate facilities has understandably left patients and their relatives feeling frustrated and disillusioned, as they look to the hospital for the care they need.
Meanwhile, doctors are grappling with the challenge of providing quality care under these trying circumstances, with the burden of a skeletal staff amplified by the shortcomings in beds and equipment.
Despite the gravity of the situation, authorities have only offered another round of generous assurances to address this crisis.
The department, which began in July 2014 with an approved 50-bed capacity from the Ministry of Health, currently operates with only 24 beds, resulting in a shortage of facilities for the various patient types it is intended to serve, including those with burns, cancer, birth defects, and accident injuries.
Due to the limited number of beds, patients are often forced to receive treatment in crowded and unsanitary conditions, with some even sleeping on the balcony due to a lack of space.
Additionally, the department lacks essential facilities, such as a dressing room, causing doctors to carry out dressing procedures by hanging curtains in the ward.
With no place for doctors to sit and no separate toilet facilities, the staff is struggling to provide proper care for the patients. Burn patients, in particular, require extra care, including air-conditioned rooms to help reduce pain and the risk of infection.
However, such provisions are lacking, creating further discomfort and distress for patients.
Despite these shortcomings, the hospital has been a trusted medical facility in the region since its establishment in 1958, serving patients not only from the Rajshahi region but also from the northern and southern areas of the country.
In recognition of its outstanding service, the hospital was recently awarded the best service in the country for healthcare among the 17 government medical college hospitals evaluated by the health department.
But patients and their families have expressed frustration with the lack of proper facilities at the department, with some saying that dressing burnt patients is being done by hanging clothes.
Dr Afroza Nazneen, chief of the burn and plastic surgery department, explained that despite the approval of 50 beds from the Ministry of Health, medical services are currently being provided in only 24 beds.
She said plans to construct a six-story building to address the lack of facilities have been promised since 2017, but work has not yet begun.
Brigadier General FM Shamim Ahmed, the director of the hospital, said that while the hospital has an ICU with 50 beds in the middle block, there are plans to construct a new, high-quality burn unit on top of it. This is a major project that will begin soon and is expected to be completed within one and a half years. Once completed, the state-of-the-art burn unit will be relocated from its current location.
Addressing the issue of manpower shortage, Brigadier General FM Shamim Ahmed said that according to the organogram of the burn unit, there should be one person in the position of professor, but currently the position is vacant.
Additionally, there are two people in the position of associate professor, whereas there should only be one person. On the other hand, there should not be one person in the position of assistant professor, yet there are two, he added.
Similarly, while there should be two registrars, there are currently three, and there is one less assistant registrar.
Brigadier General FM Shamim Ahmed said that development is an ongoing process, and the hospital is currently making the most of its resources.
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