The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is considering whether to reduce the number of dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in Dhaka, as the demand for beds at the hospitals has fallen recently.
At present, 14 government and eight private hospitals are dedicated for Covid-19 patients. Three of the hospitals are set aside for law enforcement officials and VIPs.
According to the data from DGHS, there are a total 7,073 general beds at the dedicated hospitals and 4,798 (67.84%) of the beds were vacant as of Monday.
Furthermore, 131 (43.95%) of the total 298 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are unoccupied.
The DGHS could not specify how many patients were currently undergoing treatment at private facilities.
DGHS officials connected to Covid-19 management told Dhaka Tribune they are considering three factors in deciding on the dedicated hospitals: The decreasing number of Covid-19 patients in Dhaka, patients being denied basis health services due to the pandemic, and the reduction of the transmission rate.
However, the officials also said they would not rush the decision even though the transmission rate in Dhaka is lower now.
When contacted, Director (Hospital) of DGHS Aminul Hasan said they are thinking about reducing the number of dedicated hospitals as the number of patients was reducing.
“But the Eid holidays are yet to arrive and we want to see the situation after the holidays. If we see that the situation remains the same, then a decision will be taken next month,” he added.
He also said 10 monitoring teams were working to ensure that no one was being denied access to treatment.
Meanwhile, amid allegations of fraudsters taking advantage of Covid-19 patients, the authorities in a press releae urged the people to only get treatment at government facilities or private facilities approved by the government
The press release came at a time when the DGHS is facing criticism for giving approval to JKG and Regent Hospital, two facilities where evidence of significant irregularities was found.