About 1,500 patients everyday arrive at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s emergency department, which means 60 in every hour.
But the suffering starts at the entrance when something between Tk 200 and 1,000 has to be paid to get trolley to carry the patients, which is supposed to be free! It only cost Tk 10 to get a ticket for medical services at the Emergency Department.
The trolley service is supposed to be free whereas it takes only Tk 10 to get the medical service ticket.
Asma Khatun, a pregnant lady, was brought to the emergency department recently, but instead of getting prompt medical attention, she had to wait outside for an hour as the hospital staffer with the trolley refused did not agree on Tk 200, he wants Tk 500.
The X-ray machine of the emergency department is also out of order for over a month and critically ill patients have to be moved to another building of the hospital to do it, says Ramisa Bagum, who came from Noakhali with her uncle, who suffered a brain stroke.
Hospital staffs say they have no option other than charging for trolleys.
“We have 20 trolleys, operated by as many people and all of them work for eight hours a day, but only five are paid by the hospital,” Swapan Miah, who identified himself as the headman of non-medical staff, told Bangla Tribune.
He, however, said the trolley-operators are not allowed to charge, but accept whatever the patient’s attendant offers. “We will report to the police if any one complains.”
DMCH Resident Surgeon Md Alauddin said they were trying to provide maximum service within the limited resources and manpower.
“Let’s take the example of trolleys, the wheels are fine but the remaining structure is flimsy. It’s a matter of days for them to go out of order. See it’s the system. When the authorities float a tender, bidders quote low prices to get the contract, hence the low quality,” he told Bangla Tribune.
According to Alauddin, doctors at the emergency struggle to provide service with limited resources, especially medical equipment.
“It’s not always possible to provide 100 percent free service. There are some instances, when we have to send out patients relatives to buy equipment from outside as we have no stock.”
He says most of the staff members at the emergency are trained in the job.
“The doctors are trained as well as the nurses, but ward boys or trolley-men have no training,” the resident surgeon said before adding that they suffer from an acute manpower crisis as there’s no replacement for staffs who retire.