Amid the ongoing battle against the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Chittagong Field Hospital has offered a ray of hope among its people.
The field hospital, first of its kind in Bangladesh, is scheduled to start its operation from Tuesday morning with 60 beds over around 7,000sqft at Faujdarhat area under Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong.
According to Wikipedia, a field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, public health specialist Dr Bidduth Barua said that they would provide free treatment to the patients with viral symptoms at the publicly-funded facility.
“Isolation hospital can help in a big way in the fight against the Covid-19. If treated in its incipient stage, 97% patients with viral symptoms can recover fully and return home,” said Dr Bidduth who came up with the idea of the hospital.
“A total of 60 healthcare professionals including 10 physicians, nurses, health assistants and volunteers will provide treatment to the patients on a voluntary basis. Two-three doctors will remain on-duty to ensure round-the-clock services.
“PPEs and necessary medical equipment including five ventilators have already been procured for the facility,” said the public health specialist, adding that ICU services would also be launched at the hospital shortly.
Hailing the initiative, Dr Hasan Shahriar Kabir, Director (Chittagong Division) of Directorate General of Health Services told Dhaka Tribune that it is an imitable enterprise and all should lend a hand to the commendable venture.
“We have already visited the facility. Such initiative will ease pressure on the government facilities to some extent,” said Dr Kabir.
Navana Group provided land at Faujdarhat of Sitakunda upazila for the Hospital. The site was selected considering its proximity to Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID), the only lab in Chittagong that can conduct coronavirus tests.
As of Monday, a total of 39 patients have been tested positive for Covid-19 in Chittagong. Of them, five patients have died of the deadly viral disease.
In Bangladesh, 2,948 have been infected with Covid-19. The deadly virus has claimed 101 lives so far.