Rajshahi Cardiac Hospital, the only cardiac hospital serving patients of 23 districts of the western region of the country, is running as a hub of drug addicts, thieves and touts amid manifold irregularities.
A widespread allegation has come from the patients that they keep losing valuables as the premises turns into a den of thieves from afternoon.
The drug addicts openly take different drugs inside the hospital premises. The patients feel threatened, many a times the touts harass patients while availing different services, alleged a number of patients.
Contacted, Dr Monira Parvin, superintendent of the hospital, admitted the dominance of drug addicts, thieves and touts inside the hospital.
“The authorities cannot take any action as these goons are local,” she said.
Although, there are around 10 doctors and 100 nurses in the hospital, the doctors often remain absent.
Wishing to remain anonymous, a patient suffering from tuberculosis told the Dhaka Tribune: “Doctors are available in the morning, but its quite tough to reach them in the afternoon and at night. Remaining absent has become a trend of doctors in this hospital.”
In this regard, Dr Monira said it was immaterial if the doctors remain present or not, as long as the patients are served with proper health care.
Doctors could not stay all the time because of lack of security and also there is no specific room allocated for the doctors of the hospital.
Although the hospital has a digital X-ray machine, because of lack of X-ray films the patients have to throng other diagnostic centres.
When any patient is admitted at the emergency, the doctors are called over phone by the nurses which increases sufferings for the patients. Doctors are hardly available when the condition of any patient deteriorates at night, alleged the patients admitted at the emergency.
Nurses take up the job of doctors in their absence, said many of the attendants of patients.