In the first week of May, Sadia Ulfat Shorna was running from one hospital to another for her mother who needed kidney dialysis twice a week.
It had never been a big hassle for them before, as her mother had routinely been going for dialysis since 2015.
Sadia and her siblings decided to admit their mother to a hospital when her health condition deteriorated suddenly in May. Little did they know that despite there being several private hospitals in most areas of Dhaka city, their mother would be denied treatment everywhere.
All hospitals were asking for a Covid-19 test report since their mother had breathing difficulties.
“We were almost begging the staff to allow a space for our mother in their hospital,” said Sadia.
Finally, they managed to admit her to Rushmono Hospital in Moghbazar. Sadly, Sadia’s mother passed away within a few days.
“I know my mother is not coming back, but what will happen to us if we fall sick or need medical care?” she questioned.
While health workers are battling coronavirus at the hospitals, people like Sadia are battling to make sure their family gets the medical care they require.
Dhaka Tribune reached out to a few health workers and caregivers of patients with non-Covid-19 ailments to check how the pandemic has affected people with other health issues.
Health workers think non-Covid-19 patients are not denied treatment as most hospitals have set up a dedicated Covid-19 unit. Moreover, health workers are now well informed about providing health services in a pandemic, compared to the initial stages of the crisis.
The situation is still disrupted due to shortage of health workers. However, it has gotten better compared to the first few weeks of the pandemic.
Dr Farzana Sharmin Shuvra, assistant professor of the gynaecology and obstetrics department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, told Dhaka Tribune that initially there were some issues with seeing patients, which she believes was the case for most hospitals in Bangladesh.
“At the first stage of the pandemic, most health workers and patients were a bit clueless and scared of getting infected, but I would say everything is much more systematic now,” she added.
Dr Farzana also said her department is not allowing more than 100 patients a day unless a patient has a real emergency to see a doctor. Before the Covid-19 situation, her department used to check around 400 patients a day.
“The number of patients has dropped significantly but some patients actually do not need to see a doctor in their chamber. Telemedicine can do the job,” she said.
Limit number of visits to doctor
However, pregnant women need periodical check-ups that require specific medical equipment. In such cases, the BSMMU gynecology department recommends its patients to limit their number of visits.
Dr Farzana said her pregnant patients have been asked to visit two times during their pregnancy because if they visit frequently and get infected by coronavirus, that would be worse for the mother and her baby.
A significant number of health workers and staff at most hospitals are now working with dedicated Covid-19 units of their hospitals and therefore cannot see non-Covid patients.
Doctors and staff working at Covid-19 units have to cycle through quarantine periods as well, straining medical staff resources further. To make matters worse, health service for non-Covid patients is also getting disrupted with many doctors, nurses, and hospital staff getting infected by the coronavirus.
Ashik Pasha’s parents need to visit their doctors periodically as his father has been bedridden for the past couple of years and his mother is a cancer survivor.
“We did try telemedicine but it is essential to do some lab tests for people with health conditions like my parents. Even doctors are recommending not visiting hospitals since they are old and have comorbidities,” said Ashik.
Health workers not prepared in the early stages of the pandemic
Contacted, Bangladesh Medical Association Secretary General Ehteshamul Huq Choudhury told the correspondent that hospitals and health workers were not really prepared at the first stage of the pandemic.
“I did not come across any news of patients being refused treatment at hospitals in the past two months or so,” said Ehteshamul.
He also admitted that there was some sort of confusion and fear – hospitals spreading Covid-19 infection among patients and doctors -- after the first Covid-19 case was detected in Bangladesh in March.
Ehteshamul thinks there is no magic solution to this problem as the whole health system is overwhelmed by Covid-19 issues.
“However, I think people have overcome the fear of Covid-19 infection and are not rushing to hospitals with minor colds and fever. Health workers are also getting over the fear of seeing patients,” he added.
