“All wards, except the children’s ward have resumed operation,” said Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital (ShSMCH) Director, Prof Dr Uttam Kumar Barua.
“After ensuring a safe environment we will resume the children’s ward too,” the Director told Dhaka Tribune on Saturday.
“We received 865 new patients after the fire incident at the hospital. Besides, 700 patients who were accommodated in other hospitals have been shifted back to ShSMCH,” said Prof Dr Uttam Kumar Barua.
“Around 1,174 patients, including 526 males, 576 females, and 72 children were accommodated in nearby government hospitals due to the fire incident”.
“Our intensive care unit (ICU) has resumed operation. We may face a medicine crisis as the quantity in store is sufficient only for one month. We will send a letter to the health ministry for more medicine,” Uttam Kumar said.
Mohammad Shahed Ali, a patient’s guardian, told Dhaka Tribune that when he was shifting his mother to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) from the ShSMCH, ICU, following the fire incident, he was made to pay the ambulance driver Tk3000.
Like Shahed Ali, many others also complained about the issue.
Director Uttam Kumar clarified that immediately following the fire incident many private ambulances were seen in front of the hospital and may have charged more money.
“As private ambulance service was available outside the hospital during the fire incident, we were successful in shifting our patients to other hospitals,” he added.
