Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) has been testing over 200 samples of suspected coronavirus infected patients every day.
Doctors, nurses and other medical staff remain busy with a huge number of people coming to the hospital with coronavirus symptoms as well as other medical issues.
The DMCH authorities have been conducting Covid-19 tests since April 8. So far, they have tested 2991 samples.
DMCH Principal Prof Dr Khan Abul Kalam Azad said the hospital was providing full medical support and other facilities to patients already admitted at the hospital as well as people coming from outside.
“We are receiving over 200 patients every day. On Friday, we received 187 suspected Covid-19 patients. Of them, 35 tested positive. They are now isolated in the burn unit,” the principal said.
“We want to make it clear that we will do everything in our capacity to treat patients [with coronavirus],” Dr Azad added.
He said there were 20 beds in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and five operation theatres for treating patients, while doctors were also being trained on how to handle Covid-19 patients.
On April 26, the burn and plastic surgery unit of DMCH was turned into a Covid-19 treatment centre. Since then, the hospital has been overcrowded with patients.
Sheikh Muktadir Ahmed, a patient from Narayanganj, said he came to the hospital suffering from cough and pain in his throat.
“The staff and nurses are helping me to get a form for my coronavirus testing. But as a lot of others are also waiting like me, it is taking a lot of time,” he said.
DMCH Director AKM Nasir Uddin said the capacity of the hospital allowed testing of around 200 samples per day in two shifts as the machines took 5-6 hours for testing samples.
“We are trying to complete all primary procedures as early as possible so that we can quickly provide the results. But we are getting results at 9pm after six hours [of testing],” he said.
The DMCH director added: “We are admitting suspected coronavirus patients who are in serious condition. Otherwise we are sending people who are in better condition to home quarantine with health guidelines to reduce pressure at the hospital.”
He also said already more than a thousand patients in the hospital with various health issues were also getting tested.
As the old burn unit of DMCH has a capacity for 300 beds, which are already occupied by patients, those who cannot be accommodated there would be shifted soon to the nearby 500-bed specialized Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, Nasir said.
