Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), the apex body of the country's physicians, has blamed the government’s negligence and lack of coordination behind the alarming number of coronavirus infections among healthcare professionals.
“Your ministry and directorate, for most part, cannot avoid responsibility for this national loss [infection and death of healthcare workers],” the BMA leaders said on Saturday in a letter to Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
It said the indifference, negligence, apathy and lack of coordination by Heath Ministry and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) led to the infection of over 3,500 healthcare professionals, including 1100 doctors, and death of 44 doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals across the country, including many senior doctors and ICU experts.
The letter was signed by BMA President Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin and Secretary General Dr Ehteshamul Haque Chowdhury.
The association also detailed in the letter that substandard personal protective equipment, mask, developing improper ICU in a hurried manner, lack of training, whimsy patients, streaming of disease because of limited delivery of Covid and non-Covid treatment, lack of doctors and healthcare workers and mismanagement in accommodation and food facility for healthcare workers, were the reasons behind the alarming infections and death of healthcare professionals.
“We are angry and shocked by such behavior by ministry and directorate. The huge number of infections and death of doctors and healthcare workers has not yet been reported in any Covid-19 affected country,” they said.
Despite the fact that the ministry has dedicated separate arrangements for journalists, law enforcement agency members and lawyers, however, it did not have any interest to take similar initiatives for front line fighters under the health ministry, they observed.
Doctors’ mortality rate in Bangladesh ‘very high’
Experts said the pandemic seems to have turned deadly for Bangladeshi doctors in terms of mortality rate.
Over the past two weeks, the deaths of doctors from the coronavirus have been reported almost every day in the country, taking the total tally to 43 as of June 18, said Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) President Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin.
Besides, Doctors Safety, Rights and Responsibility said six other physicians died with coronavirus symptoms, reports UNB.
According to various organizations, the coronavirus has claimed the lives of about 50 doctors, which is around 4% of the nation’s total Covid-19 fatalities.
BMA President Mohiuddin said 3,301 health workers, including 1,040 doctors, 901 nurses, and 1,360 technicians and others engaged in different activities at the hospitals were also infected during the same period.
But, the number is much higher as per the data of other bodies of physicians, nurses and healthcare employees.
Data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) show that the total number of confirmed cases stood at 108,775 and deaths at 1,425 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Muzaherul Huq, former regional advisor to the World Health Organisation (WHO), said the rate of coronavirus infections among health workers was very high in Bangladesh compared to other countries.
Huq believes the main reason behind the growing infections among health workers is that they are directly coming in contact with patients and their attendants without proper protective gears.
“Lack of quality PPE was the main reason behind the infections of the doctors at the initial stage, but this problem has now been resolved to some extent,” he said.
However, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Vice-Chancellor Kanak Kanti Barua said majority of the doctors who have died so far were senior ones with comorbidities.
“Many patients, along with their attendants, come to doctors without wearing masks. They also hide their infection. Many patients who come to BSMMU for tests also visit my room without any reason. Sometimes patients become aggressive if they are barred. It’s a big problem,” he said.
He said many senior and retired doctors are getting infected as they are doing private practice.
Dr Kanak Kanti said all the hospitals should now focus on infection control measures to protect the doctors and other health workers.
