Enam Medical College Hospital, one of the private medical colleges in Savar, played a vital role in saving lives of those injured in Wednesday’s tragedy.
Doctors, teachers, students, officials and staff members of the hospital have put in their best efforts in the race to save the lives of hundreds.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Abu Shamim, personal assistant to the principal of Enam Medical College Hospital, said, “At first we thought some 10 to 12 people had sustained injuries and we could handle the matter easily as we usually do in the case of major accidents. But just after a while, countless injured people were being brought into our hospital. We received some 1,500 injured people and of them we admitted some 1,000 in different wards.”
“Then the authority cancelled all classes and asked all teachers, doctors, students and other employees to join hands in order to save hundreds of lives. We all got together - some 1600 of us - and started providing our best service to the injured,” he said.
Shamim added, “But unfortunately, some 80 people succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment here. We did not even get the chance to attend to some of them as they were almost motionless and died immediately upon admission.”
He further informed that despite being the largest hospital in the area, initially they did not have adequate medicine and necessary equipment as the number of causalities was totally unexpected.
But then the owner of the institute, Dr Enamur Rahman, extended his helping hand for saving lives. He himself donated a handsome amount for buying medicines and equipment for the united effort that saved many lives, said Shamim.
Meanwhile, some local organisations and medicine companies helped out further.
Dr Enamur Rahman, while talking to our staff reporter Mohammad Jamil khan, said, “Some 1500-1600 injured were brought here. We released some of them after giving first aid, but, a major number of people were severely wounded and despite not having the capacity, we started giving treatment.”
“Our emergency room was filled up at one stage. We placed the patients on the floor and the lobby. Meanwhile, we referred some of the patients to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treatment,” he added.
Dr Moniruzzaman, director of the hospital told Dhaka Tribune that they were all trying to give their best in giving proper treatment to the injured.
He said that two teams from Dhaka Pangu Hospital, two teams from Bogra Medical College Hospital and doctors from different local organisations, hospitals and clinics have joined hands with the Enam Medical College team.
According to a witness, some 750 people are now under treatment at the hospital and, of them, some 450 will undergo surgery;35 people were shifted to the ICU and 40 underwent surgery until noon today.
Mahbub, the husband of an injured garment worker, Sonia, said, “Despite admitting numerous people, the authority is trying to give us their best and doctors are coming frequently to see the progress of their patients. Apart from medical service, they are also giving us food, water and blood.”
A medical source said Enam Medical College has six students’ clubs. They jointly came forward and started collecting food, water, medicine and blood for the wounded from local people and organisations.
Kaiser Hamid, a fifth year student of Enam Medical College, and also president of the student club “Sporsha”, said, “All the students of the institute took this as a matter of high importance. When the patients were brought here, they were badly in need of blood. But we did not have adequate bags of blood for so many people. Our students started donating bloodto the victims on an emergency basis and we collected some 50 bags of blood just within a couple of hours.”
“Later, people from Dhaka and Savar, students of Jahangirnagar University, Bogra Medical College, East-West Medical College, CRP, Gonoshastha and doctors from Apollo Hospital came forward and donated blood,” Kaiser added.
People from all walks of life, including students of different universities, Ganajagoran Mancha, Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC), scout members and medicine companies have extended their helping hands and support to the members of Enam Medical College Hospital in order help with this national crisis.
Hope came about among the injured garment workers, who were the major victims of the unexpected and unacceptable incident, as many garment owners and garment factory authorities came forward and also provided assistance in bringing the workers back home.
Thursday, March 20, 2025
