Bangladesh News

Three hospitals run by Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) are unable to provide proper health service to patients–despite having proper budgetary allocations–because of lack of medical professionals and equipment.

Acute crisis of doctors and nurses has led to very poor service delivery at the Dhaka Mahanagar General Hospital, Dhaka Mahanagar Shishu Hospital and Nazirabazar Maternity Hospital in the capital.

These hospitals were designed to provide primary and secondary health care service to urban people.

A single patient was seen lying all by himself at a ward (surgery) at the 50-bed Dhaka Mahanagar General Hospital near Chawkbazar, while there were an insignificant number of patients at the other wards.

Dr Mohammad Azmal Hossain, director of the hospital, said that since December last year the hospital has had no surgeon on its payroll, severely hindering service.

“We have managed a paediatric surgeon from Mahanagar Shishu Hospital to conduct surgeries here twice a week, but that is obviously not enough,” he said.

Out of the 29 medical posts at the hospital, at least nine posts–including that of consultant surgeon, consultant medicine, anaesthetist, pathologist, resident physician, resident surgeon–have been vacant since last year.

Established in 1989, the hospital has been running mostly with the doctors on deputation but over the last two and half years even that has lapsed.

At present there are only 18 nurses working at the hospital against 30 posts.

“When my first child was born here a few years ago, I found a large number of patients coming here. The numbers have dropped significantly now,” said Komol Rani, a patient who gave birth to her second child at Nazirabazar Maternity Hospital.

The pathology department is yet to run even after 8 years of its establishment at the 31-bed Nazirabazar Maternity Hospital. Only three nurses work here against 11 posts. Five posts of doctors and pathologists lie vacant while the in-charge of the hospital works here on deputation.

The family planning support also has been stopped for the last six months due to lack of Family Welfare Visitors (FWVs).

The quality of health service at another DCC-run hospital–the Mahanagar Shishu Hospital–is not much different.

The hospital situated at Gour Sundar Roy lane at Lalbagh has only 16 nurses against 34 posts while six posts for doctors lie vacant.

Established in 1990, the 100-bed hospital could not provide indoor support to even ten patients at a time before 2006.

Though that situation has improved, the hospital cannot provide all pathological support to patients and though the number of patients has increased several times, the manpower has not increased at all.

While talking to The Daily Star Chief Health Officer of DCC Dr Col Showkat Ali said one main reason why doctors and nurses are reluctant to work in these hospitals is because there is no scope for promotions here.

“However, we have already taken up a project to turn the Mahanagar General Hospital into a 250-bed medical college. It will create scope of promotion for the medical professionals here and concurrently those who are working in other DCC-run hospitals will be incorporated with the medical college and hospital according to their qualification and skill,” he said. Until then the hospitals will continue as it is, he added.

The medical college already got the LGRD ministry nod for accommodation and manpower. “Now we are waiting for the ministry’s approval of the manpower organogram,” he added.

But the fact is, the approval for the medical college and hospital came from the LGRD ministry in October, 2006, and the manpower organogram approval is still pending. Nobody knows how much more time it will take to make new the Mahanagar General Hospital and Medical College functional.