A sharp increase in patient admissions during the Eid-ul-Azha holidays has placed significant pressure on Sir Salimullah Medical College (Mitford) Hospital in Dhaka, with patients and their relatives complaining of delays in receiving treatment due to a reduced number of doctors and nurses on duty.
After visiting to the hospital on Saturday, it was found that long queues at the emergency department and various wards as patients waited for medical attention.
Hospital sources said many patients were being treated for indigestion, diarrhoea, severe gastric complications, elevated blood sugar levels and heart-related ailments, conditions doctors linked to the consumption of excessive meat and fatty foods during the Eid festivities.
The hospital has also seen a rise in cases of fever, cough, cold and viral infections among children, while several accident victims were receiving treatment.
Monir Hossain, who brought his wife from Keraniganj for treatment, said he had to wait nearly an hour and a half before seeing a doctor.
“There are too many patients but too few doctors,” he said.
Al-Amin, who brought his four-year-old daughter suffering from an eye infection, voiced similar concerns.
“My daughter’s eyes have been red for several days. When her condition did not improve, I brought her here. The patient load is extremely high, but only two doctors are attending patients,” he said.
Shefali Begum said she had been waiting in line for nearly an hour to seek treatment for her grandson’s stomach illness.
At the emergency department, Alamgir Hossain arrived with severe chest pain and appealed to Ansar personnel for immediate medical attention. However, he was asked to wait in the queue.
“I am experiencing intense chest pain and need urgent treatment, but there is a long line ahead of me,” he said.
The paediatric ward on the hospital’s seventh floor was also overcrowded, with children admitted for a range of illnesses.
Relatives of patients alleged that doctors’ ward visits had become less frequent during the holiday period.
“One of our children was admitted a few days ago. Doctors used to conduct regular rounds, but those visits have become less frequent during the Eid holidays,” said a family member of a patient in the paediatric ward.
